Kabul
At least 14 people were killed in twin explosions outside Kabul airport late Thursday evening, Al Jazeera reported, citing a source in the Taliban.
Several people wounded in the blast close to Kabul airport have been taken to a nearby hospital, TOLO news reported. The blast outside the Abbey Gate at Kabul's airport injured at least three US troops, US officials confirmed.
According to a local reporter, a suicide attacker blew himself up in the middle of a large crowd and another attacker started shooting. "AFG Explosion took place outside of the eastern gate of airport and gunfire is underway. There are casualties and fatalities, multiple eyewitnesses tells me," Afghan Reporter Bilal Sarwary tweeted.
He also posted heartbreaking images of the blast scene outside the airport gate:
Massacre of Afghans. Entire families destroyed. My heart breaks for Kabul. #NOTJUSTNUMBERSLIVES pic.twitter.com/6NrkDf24ID
— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) August 26, 2021
Bilawal said while Afghans keen to leave the country were getting their papers checked outside one of he airport gates, a suicide bomber came in the middle of the mob and blew himself up
Afghan journalist kept posting reports on Twitter. One of them quoted eyewitnesses to say at least 50 Afghans were brought to hospital in serious condition.
On eyewitness said he say bodies of foreign soldiers and others at the Abbey gate, the site of the explosion.
This comes amid the frantic endgame of the US drawdown from Afghanistan and as thousands of people flock to the airport in a bid to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Earlier UK armed forces minister James Happey spoke on different media outlets in theUK to warn of a “credible and imminent threat from Islamic State Khorasan (SIS-K), the Afghan branch of the self-styled Islamic State, on the Airport. It follows advice from the US State Department advising its citizens to leave the area immediately.
"We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can," said John Kirby, Assistant to the US Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
This comes after multiple reports had suggested looming terrorist threats at the Kabul airport.
According to US media reports, grave and specific ISIS-K terror threats were reported with time fast running out for the US rescue mission from Afghanistan.