Two suicide attacks outside Kabul airport; 13 dead

Twin suicide bombings struck Thursday outside Kabuls airport where large crowds of people trying to flee Afghanistan have massed killing at least 13 people Russian officials saidWestern nations had warned earlier in the day of a possible attack at the airport in the waning days of a massive airlift Suspicion for any attack targeting the crowds would likely fall on the Islamic State group and not the Taliban who have been deployed at the airports gates trying to control the mass of peopleRussias Foreign Ministry gave the first official casualty count saying 13 people had died and 15 were woundedWe can confirm that the explosion near the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport has resulted in an unknown number of casualties We will continue to updatemdash John Kirby PentagonPresSec August 26 2021US officials said that American personnel were wounded in the blast without elaborating They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operationsPentagon spokesman John Kirby also confirmed the blasts saying one near an airport entrance was a ldquocomplex attackrdquo and another was a short distance away by a hotelOne explosion went off in a crowd of people waiting to enter the airport according to Adam Khan an Afghan waiting nearby He said several people appeared to have been killed or wounded including some who lost body partsSeveral countries urged people to avoid the airport earlier in the day with one saying there was a threat of a suicide bombing But just days mdash or even hours for some nations mdash before the evacuation effort ends few appeared to heed the callWe can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US amp civilian casualties We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel a short distance from Abbey Gate We will continue to updatemdash John Kirby PentagonPresSec August 26 2021Over the last week the airport has been the scene of some of the most searing images of the chaotic end of Americas longest war and the Talibans takeover as flight after flight took off carrying those who fear a return to the militants brutal ruleAlready some countries have ended their evacuations and begun to withdraw their soldiers and diplomats signaling the beginning of the end of one of historys largest airlifts The Taliban have pledged not to attack Western forces during the evacuation but insist the foreign troops must be out by Americas selfimposed deadline of August 31Overnight warnings emerged from Western capitals about a threat from Afghanistans Islamic State group affiliate which likely has seen its ranks boosted by the Talibans freeing of prisoners during their blitz across the countryBritish Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told the BBC early Thursday there was rdquovery very credible reporting of an imminent attackrdquo at the airport possibly within ldquohoursrdquo Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said his country had received information from the US and other countries about the ldquothreat of suicide attacks on the mass of peoplerdquoThe acting US ambassador to Kabul Ross Wilson said the security threat at the Kabul airport overnight was ldquoclearly regarded as credible as imminent as compellingrdquo But in an interview with ABC News he would not give details and did not say whether the threat remainedA while later the blast was reported US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the explosion the White House saysAlso ReadWitness Several appear dead or wounded in Kabul blastLate Wednesday the US Embassy warned citizens at three airport gates to leave immediately due to an unspecified security threat Australia Britain and New Zealand also advised their citizens Thursday not to go to the airport with Australias foreign minister saying there was a ldquovery high threat of a terrorist attackrdquoTaliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that any attack was imminent in the wake of those warningsEarlier Thursday the Taliban sprayed a water cannon at those gathered at one airport gate to try to drive the crowd away as someone launched tear gas canisters elsewhereNadia Sadat a 27yearold Afghan carried her 2yearold daughter with her outside the airport She and her husband who had worked with coalition forces missed a call from a number they believed was the State Department and were trying to get into the airport without any luck Her husband had pressed ahead in the crowd to try to get them insideldquoWe have to find a way to evacuate because our lives are in dangerrdquo Sadat said My husband received several threatening messages from unknown sources We have no chance except escapingrdquoGunshots later echoed in the area as Sadat waited ldquoThere is anarchy because of immense crowds she said blaming the US for the chaosAman Karimi 50 escorted his daughter and her family to the airport fearful the Taliban would target her because of her husbands work with NATOldquoThe Taliban have already begun seeking those who have worked with NATO he said ldquoThey are looking for them housebyhouse at nightrdquoMany Afghans share those fears The hardline Islamic group wrested back control of the country nearly 20 years after being ousted in a USled invasion following the 911 attacks which alQaida orchestrated while being sheltered by the groupSenior US officials said Wednesdays warning from the embassy was related to specific threats involving the Islamic State group and potential vehicle bombs The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing military operationsThe Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan grew out of disaffected Taliban members who hold an even more extreme view of Islam The Sunni extremists have carried out a series of brutal attacks mainly targeting Afghanistans Shiite Muslim minority including a 2020 assault on a maternity hospital in Kabul in which they killed women and infantsThe Taliban have fought against Islamic State militants in Afghanistan But IS fighters were likely freed from prisons along with other inmates during the Talibans rapid advance Extremists may have seized heavy weapons and equipment abandoned by Afghan troopsThis 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