At least 13 people including children were killed in a suspected suicide bomb explosion on Thursday, August 26. This reportedly happened outside the airport in Kabul after the United States and allies urged Afghans to leave the region because of a threat by Islamic State. Many Taliban guards were wounded.
A U.S. official said U.S. 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.
Race to evacuate foreigners
Thousands of people have been gathering outside the airport in recent days. Western troops are racing to evacuate foreigners and Afghans who helped Western countries during the 20-year war against the Taliban, and to get out by an August 31 deadline.
Warnings of a potential attack
John Kirby who’s Pentagon press secretary said that there had been an explosion and it was unclear if there were any casualties. Despite the warnings of a potential attack, the airport gates were “incredibly crowded”. Western countries have put out warnings of a possible attack by Islamic State militants.
“Our guards are also risking their lives at Kabul airport, they face a threat too from the Islamic State group,” said a Taliban official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and before the reports of the explosion.
Joe Biden briefed on explosion
According to a White House official, United States President Joe Biden has been briefed on the explosion. Infact, he was reportedly in a meeting with security officials about the situation in Afghanistan when the explosion was first reported.