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At least 60 people have been killed in bomb attacks outside Kabul airport, medical sources say, in an attack claimed by ISIL.
Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans at Kabul airport, turning a scene of despair into a scene of horror at the end of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover.
At least 60 people were killed, medical sources told Al Jazeera, and dozens more were injured in Thursday’s blasts.
Among the dead were dozens of civilians and 12 American servicemen.
Here’s what we know so far:
What happened?
There were two explosions outside the perimeter of Kabul airport. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said an explosion occurred near the airport entrance at Abbey Gate.
One of the bombers hit Afghans knee-deep in a sewage canal under the scorching sun, throwing bodies into the foul water.
The second explosion took place at or near the Baron Hotel, where scores of people including Afghans, British and Americans have been invited to gather in recent days before heading to the airport for evacuation.
The capture of Kabul by the Taliban on August 15 sparked an exodus of foreign nationals and workers, as well as Afghans who were working with the military and foreign groups to flee to the airport.
Who is behind the attack?
ISIL Group (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, the group’s Amaq news agency told its Telegram channel.
ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), opposes Western nations as well as the Taliban, who recently took control of the country in a lightning strike and condemned the attack.
ISKP members, with ties to the group’s best-known affiliate in Syria and Iraq, have carried out a series of brutal attacks, mainly targeting the Shiite Muslim minority in Afghanistan, including a 2020 attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul during which they killed women and infants.
Volunteers and medical staff bring injured man for treatment after two powerful explosions outside Kabul airport [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]Number of deaths
Within hours of the blast, a Taliban official and Russian officials said at least 13 people were killed in the blasts, and several others injured.
Later Thursday, medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 60 people were killed in the blast. Media reports citing Afghan officials confirmed that at least 60 Afghan civilians were killed and more than 140 Afghans were injured in the attacks.
The Pentagon confirmed that at least 12 U.S. servicemen were killed in the attack and 15 other servicemen were injured.
Is the attack a surprise?
On Wednesday night, warnings emerged from Western capitals of a threat from ISIS, which saw its ranks swell with the release of prisoners by the Taliban as it advanced through Afghanistan.
On Wednesday evening, the United States Embassy warned citizens three doors of the airport to leave immediately due to an unspecified security threat. Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand also advised their citizens on Thursday not to go to the airport.
Western officials have warned of a major attack, urging people to leave the airport, but this advice has remained largely ignored by Afghans desperate to flee the country in the final days of a state-led evacuation. United before the United States officially ends its 20-year presence on August 31.
Evacuations
Amid the warnings and the impending U.S. withdrawal, Canada halted its evacuations and several European countries halted or prepared to shut down their own operations.
But Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said some planes would continue to fly.
“The evacuation operations in Kabul will not end in 36 hours. We will continue to evacuate as many people as possible until the end of the mission, ”he said in a tweet.
The Taliban have said they will allow Afghans to leave via commercial flights after the August 31 deadline next week, but it is still unclear which airlines would return to an airport controlled by the group.
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