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KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug 26 (AP) \u2014 Twin suicide bombings struck Thursday outside Kabul\u2019s airport, where large crowds of people trying to flee Afghanistan have massed, killing at least 13 people, Russian officials said.<\/p>\n
Western nations had warned earlier in the day of a possible attack at the airport in the waning days of a massive airlift. Suspicion for any attack targeting the crowds would likely fall on the Islamic State group and not the Taliban, who have been deployed at the airport\u2019s gates trying to control the mass of people.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s Foreign Ministry gave the first official casualty count, saying 13 people had died and 15 were wounded.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials said that American personnel were wounded in the blast, without elaborating. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.<\/p>\n
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby also confirmed the blasts, saying one near an airport entrance was a \u201ccomplex attack\u201d and another was a short distance away by a hotel.<\/p>\n
One explosion went off in a crowd of people waiting to enter the airport, according to Adam Khan, an Afghan waiting nearby. He said several people appeared to have been killed or wounded, including some who lost body parts.<\/p>\n
Several countries urged people to avoid the airport earlier in the day, with one saying there was a threat of a suicide bombing. But just days \u2014 or even hours for some nations \u2014 before the evacuation effort ends, few appeared to heed the call.<\/p>\n
Over the last week, the airport has been the scene of some of the most searing images of the chaotic end of America\u2019s longest war and the Taliban\u2019s takeover, as flight after flight took off carrying those who fear a return to the militants\u2019 brutal rule.<\/p>\n
Already, some countries have ended their evacuations and begun to withdraw their soldiers and diplomats, signaling the beginning of the end of one of history\u2019s largest airlifts. The Taliban have pledged not to attack Western forces during the evacuation, but insist the foreign troops must be out by America\u2019s self-imposed deadline of Aug. 31.<\/p>\n
Overnight, warnings emerged from Western capitals about a threat from Afghanistan\u2019s Islamic State group affiliate, which likely has seen its ranks boosted by the Taliban\u2019s freeing of prisoners during their blitz across the country.<\/p>\n
British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told the BBC early Thursday there was \u201dvery, very credible reporting of an imminent attack\u201d at the airport, possibly within \u201chours.\u201d Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said his country had received information from the U.S. and other countries about the \u201cthreat of suicide attacks on the mass of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The acting U.S. ambassador to Kabul, Ross Wilson, said the security threat at the Kabul airport overnight was \u201cclearly regarded as credible, as imminent, as compelling.\u201d But in an interview with ABC News, he would not give details and did not say whether the threat remained.<\/p>\n
A while later, the blast was reported. U.S. President Joe Biden has been briefed on the explosion, the White House says.<\/p>\n
Late Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy warned citizens at three airport gates to leave immediately due to an unspecified security threat. Australia, Britain and New Zealand also advised their citizens Thursday not to go to the airport, with Australia\u2019s foreign minister saying there was a \u201cvery high threat of a terrorist attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that any attack was imminent in the wake of those warnings.<\/p>\n
Earlier Thursday, the Taliban sprayed a water cannon at those gathered at one airport gate to try to drive the crowd away, as someone launched tear gas canisters elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Nadia Sadat, a 27-year-old Afghan, carried her 2-year-old daughter with her outside the airport. She and her husband, who had worked with coalition forces, missed a call from a number they believed was the State Department and were trying to get into the airport without any luck. Her husband had pressed ahead in the crowd to try to get them inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to find a way to evacuate because our lives are in danger,\u201d Sadat said. \u201cMy husband received several threatening messages from unknown sources. We have no chance except escaping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunshots later echoed in the area as Sadat waited. \u201cThere is anarchy because of immense crowds,\u201d she said, blaming the U.S. for the chaos.<\/p>\n
Aman Karimi, 50, escorted his daughter and her family to the airport, fearful the Taliban would target her because of her husband\u2019s work with NATO.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Taliban have already begun seeking those who have worked with NATO,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are looking for them house-by-house at night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many Afghans share those fears. The hard-line Islamic group wrested back control of the country nearly 20 years after being ousted in a U.S.-led invasion following the 9\/11 attacks, which al-Qaida orchestrated while being sheltered by the group.<\/p>\n
Senior U.S. officials said Wednesday\u2019s warning from the embassy was related to specific threats involving the Islamic State group and potential vehicle bombs. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing military operations.<\/p>\n
The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan grew out of disaffected Taliban members who hold an even more extreme view of Islam. The Sunni extremists have carried out a series of brutal attacks, mainly targeting Afghanistan\u2019s Shiite Muslim minority, including a 2020 assault on a maternity hospital in Kabul in which they killed women and infants.<\/p>\n
The Taliban have fought against Islamic State militants in Afghanistan. But IS fighters were likely freed from prisons along with other inmates during the Taliban\u2019s rapid advance. Extremists may have seized heavy weapons and equipment abandoned by Afghan troops.<\/p>\n
Amid the warnings and the pending American withdrawal, Canada ended its evacuations, and European nations halted or prepared to stop their own operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality on the ground is the perimeter of the airport is closed. The Taliban have tightened the noose. It\u2019s very, very difficult for anybody to get through at this point,\u201d said Canadian General Wayne Eyre, the country\u2019s acting Chief of Defense Staff.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Georges Eiden, Luxembourg\u2019s army representative in neighboring Pakistan, said that Friday would mark the official end for U.S. allies. But two Biden administration officials denied that was the case.<\/p>\n
A third official said that the U.S. worked with its allies to coordinate each country\u2019s departure, and some nations asked for more time and were granted it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost depart later in the week,\u201d he said, while adding that some were stopping operations Thursday. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the information publicly.<\/p>\n
French Prime Minister Jean Castex told RTL radio his country\u2019s efforts would stop Friday evening. Danish Defense Minister Trine Bramsen bluntly warned: \u201cIt is no longer safe to fly in or out of Kabul.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denmark\u2019s last flight has already departed, and Poland and Belgium have also announced the end of their evacuations. The Dutch government said it had been told by the U.S. to leave Thursday.<\/p>\n
But Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said some planes would continue to fly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvacuation operations in Kabul will not be wrapping up in 36 hours. We will continue to evacuate as many people as we can until the end of the mission,\u201d he said in a tweet.<\/p>\n
The Taliban have said they\u2019ll allow Afghans to leave via commercial flights after the deadline next week, but it remains unclear which airlines would return to an airport controlled by the militants. Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said talks were underway between his country and the Taliban about allowing Turkish civilian experts to help run the facility.<\/p>\n
The Taliban have promised to return Afghanistan to security and pledged they won\u2019t seek revenge on those who opposed them or roll back progress on human rights. But many Afghans are skeptical.<\/p>\n
Ziar Yad, an Afghan journalist from private broadcaster Tolo News, said Taliban fighters beat him and his colleague and confiscated their cameras, technical equipment and a mobile phone as they tried to report on poverty in Kabul.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe issue has been shared with Taliban leaders; however, the perpetrators have not yet been arrested, which is a serious threat to freedom of expression,\u201d Yad wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n
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