Two explosions blasted through crowds attempting to reach the American-controlled Kabul airport on Thursday, killing at least 60 Afghans and 12 U.S. military personnel.
Suicide Bombers and Gunmen Attacked Crowds
In a recently published article in Associated Press, in the final days of airlift for people escaping the Taliban takeover, two suicide bombers and gunmen assaulted thousands of Afghans coming to Kabul's airport, turning a picture of desperation into one of terror. At least 60 Afghans and 12 U.S. soldiers were killed in the assaults, according to Afghan and U.S. authorities.
The Islamic State group claimed credit for the murders on its Amaq news program shortly after McKenzie spoke. The assaults, McKenzie added, would not stop the U.S. from evacuating Americans and others, and flights out would continue. He claimed there was a lot of security at the airport and that evacuees were being transported through alternative routes.
11 Marines and one Navy medic were among those killed, according to U.S. authorities. Another 15 military personnel were injured, according to McKenzie. Officials have cautioned that the death toll may rise. According to an Afghan official, more than 140 Afghans were injured, The New York Times reports.
The United States Plans To Continue the Evacuation
The United States intends to continue evacuating American citizens and Afghan allies. The head of the U.S. Central Command, Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie, told reporters on Thursday. According to him, the United States believes that about 1,000 Americans are still in Afghanistan.
However, the window for evacuation planes is quickly closing ahead of Mr. Biden's deadline of Aug. 31 for the U.S. military departure. Thousands of foreign nationals and permanent residents remain trapped in Afghanistan, with many fearing that they will be abandoned to face Taliban retaliation, according to a published article in MSN News.
Furthermore, the United States has evacuated and supported the evacuation of roughly 95,700 individuals from Afghanistan since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban seized control of Kabul, according to the White House. It claimed that in the 24 hours leading up to 3 a.m. ET Thursday, roughly 13,400 individuals were evacuated, with around 5,100 of them flying aboard US military planes.
Plans of Foreign Countries Following the Two Separate Bombings
Following the explosion on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France will continue to evacuate individuals as long as circumstances permitted at the airport. He said that twenty buses carrying French people and Afghans were ready to enter the airport.
In a published article in The Wall Street Journal, in a letter to parliament on Thursday morning, the Dutch Defense Ministry said that aircraft operations will be suspended by the end of the day in order to evacuate several hundred individuals who were already inside the airport, with diplomatic personnel and Dutch soldiers leaving on the last flight. The ministry went on to say that it could no longer help its nationals and qualified Afghans get to the airport.
Meanwhile, following moves by its allies, the United States and the United Kingdom, Poland, which has transported more than 900 Afghan civilians since the fall of Kabul, announced it was also halting its evacuation operation. "The situation is tough, even dramatic, and it is becoming more difficult by the hour," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday.
