Several people were killed outside Kabul airport in two different blasts which occurred today.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said one blast occurred near the airport’s Abbey Gate and the other close to the nearby Baron Hotel. Two US officials said at least one of the explosions appeared to be from a suicide bombing.
“We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties,” Kirby said on Twitter. “We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate.”
An explosion went off Thursday outside Kabul’s airport, where thousands of people have flocked as they try to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said a second explosion went off outside the airport in the Afghan capital, adding that at least 13 were killed and 15 injured.
A United States official said US service members were among the wounded, adding he was citing an initial report and cautioning that it could change. He said there were casualties but did not know how many or of what nationality.
Kabul’s Emergency Hospital said in a tweet that it has received more than 30 patients so far while six others were already dead on arrival.
Western nations had warned of a possible attack there in the waning days of a massive airlift. The Pentagon confirmed the blast, with the Taliban saying at least 13 people have been killed.
In the 11 days since the Taliban took Kabul, the US and its allies have mounted one of the biggest air evacuations in history, bringing out more than 88,000 people. The US military says planes are taking off about every 39 minutes.
Taliban fighters have been guarding the perimeter of the airport, thronged by thousands of people trying to flee a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis, reporting from Kabul, said about 1,500 US passport holders meant to be evacuated remained in the capital.
“The US and the Taliban have a deal. The Taliban are under strict instructions not to let anyone through without a passport, without a green card, without verified documents and there is confusion about what a verified document looks like,” she said.
