WEB DESK
At least 13 United States soldiers are among the 85 people killed in the explosions at Kabul airport, claimed by ISIL (ISIS) affiliate, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP or ISIS-K).
The Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State (IS), ISIS-Khorasan, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
It was the worst single-day loss for American troops in Afghanistan since the August 2011 attack on a Chinook helicopter that killed 30 service members.
The two blasts ripped through crowds of Afghans trying to enter the American-controlled facility, where US-led evacuation effort was taking place, in an attempt to flee the Taliban takeover of the war torn country.
Officials said, a suicide bomb attack at the airport’s Abbey Gate was followed by an assault by gunmen. Another bomb attack took place nearby, at a hotel outside the airport. The Pentagon said, several American service members were injured in the multiple attacks.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden vowed to retaliate against Thursday’s attack in Kabul, saying that he will hunt down those responsible and make them pay. Biden confirmed in a speech from the White House on Thursday that the bombings were carried out by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), ISIL’s affiliate in Afghanistan.
The US Embassy in Kabul has issued an alert asking its citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates. The French envoy, too, warned its citizens to leave the area urgently.
As per reports, two of the Afghanistan most prominent leaders, former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), have also been effectively put under house arrest by the Taliban.
India has strongly condemned the bomb blasts in Kabul. New Delhi extended condolences to the families of the victims of the terrorist attack. It said the attacks in Kabul reinforce the need for the world to stand unitedly against terrorism and all those who provide sanctuaries to terrorists.
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the terror attack and expressed his support for the victims of the blast.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the situation in Kabul has seriously deteriorated and his country is coordinating with US allies to evacuate maximum number of people. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has also condemned the attack and vowed to continue evacuations from Afghanistan.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, the United Kingdom will continue its evacuation operation from Kabul despite the attack.