Kabul attacks reinforce need for world to stand against terrorism: India to UNSC

Strongly condemning the terrorist strikes in Afghanistans capital Kabul India has told the UN Security Council that these attacks reinforce the need for the world to stand unitedly against terrorism and all those who provide sanctuaries to terroristsTwo suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabuls airport on Thursday killing at least 60 Afghans and 13 US troopsldquoLet me begin by strongly condemning the terrorist attack in Kabul We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this terrorist attackrdquo Indias Permanent Representative to the UN and President of the Security Council Ambassador T S Tirumurti said on ThursdaySpeaking in the UNSC briefing on Ethiopia Tirumurti said the attacks in Kabul ldquoreinforce the need for the world to stand unitedly against terrorism and all those who provide sanctuaries to terroristsrdquoUS President Joe Biden has vowed to ldquohuntrdquo down the terrorists and make them ldquopayrdquo for the deadly attacks outside the Kabul airportAlso Read Kabul airport blasts 90 dead alert for rockets vehicle borne attacksldquoTo those who carried out this attack as well as anyone who wishes America harm notice we will not forgive We will not forget We will hunt you down and make you pay I will defend our interests and our people with every measure at my command Biden told reporters at the White House on ThursdayThe president said ISILK The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Khorasan Province was behind the gruesome attack at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul and at a hotel nearbyUN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres before heading into the UNSC meeting that discussed the humanitarian situation in Tigray told reporters that he expressed in the ldquostrongest possible wayrdquo his total condemnation about the horrific terrorist attack in KabulHe expressed condolences to the families of all those ldquoperishedrdquo Afghans and those that were helping there and died serving the lives of others ldquoI have also asked my Special Representative Deborah Lyons to convey directly to Kabul my deep condolences to the Afghan peoplerdquo he saidThe UN chief is meeting the five permanent vetowielding members of the Security Council China France Russia the UK and the US on Monday and the situation in Afghanistan is expected to be discussedWhen asked what he is hoping to achieve on Monday with his meeting with the P5 he said there are normal meetings that take place in the context of the work of the UNrdquoEarlier spokesperson for the SecretaryGeneral Stephane Dujarric said at the daily press briefing on Thursday that the Kabul attack ldquounderscores the volatilityrdquo of the situation on the ground in AfghanistanldquoThe SecretaryGeneral is following with great concern the ongoing situation in Kabul and especially at the airport He condemns this terrorist attack which killed and injured a number of civilians and extends his deep condolences to the families of those killed He stands in solidarity and wishes a speedy recovery to those injuredrdquo he saidldquoThis incident underscores the volatility of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan but also strengthens our resolve as we continue to deliver urgent assistance across the country in support of the Afghan peoplerdquo Dujarric saidResponding to questions on the situation in Afghanistan Dujarric said the UN is conducting headcount of the casualties and those injured and added that ldquoas far as we know at this moment there are no casualties of UN staffrdquoldquoI think we did have a few number of staff around the airport but theyre all reported safe and soundrdquo he saidDujarric said the UN has not at this point ldquocounted ourselves the number of killed and wounded Were basing our information on what were getting from local sources and other placesrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever