Twin explosions outside Kabul airport kill at least 13, several injured

At least 13 people were killed while several were reportedly injured in two explosions that took place outside Kabul airport on Thursday. Four Marine commandos of US are also among the dead while three soldiers have been injured. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed 52 people were injured in the bombing.

The explosions happened outside the airport's gate. The US Defence Ministry has confirmed the blast.

There were at least two explosions near Kabul's airport amid a huge evacuation effort from Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Thursday, with civilians and US service members among the casualties.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said one blast occurred near the airport's Abbey Gate and the other close to the nearby Baron Hotel. Two US officials said at least one of the explosions appeared to be from a suicide bombing.

"We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties," Kirby said on Twitter. "We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate."

We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can.

— John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) August 26, 2021

Kabul Airport is currently the most dangerous place in the world and the biggest Flash Point where thousands of lives are at stake at this time. These people of Afghanistan are now desperate to be free and they are all sitting around Kabul airport hoping that maybe they will get lucky and be able to run out of the country.

Along with this attack, bullets have also been fired near Abbey Gate. Notably, thousands of Afghan citizens have been frozen outside Kabul Airport for the last week. But due to lack of visa and passport, they are not able to get entry inside the airport. At the same time, the Taliban has also announced that no Afghan citizen will be allowed to leave the country and they will have to return to their homes.

Just 24 hours before this bombing outside the airport, America had expressed the possibility of a terrorist attack there. On August 25, the US issued an advisory asking all its citizens stranded in Afghanistan to get away from the airport as soon as possible. The US had warned that there were major security threats outside the airport. Therefore all American citizens should immediately move away from Abbey Gate.

At the same time, after the bombing outside Kabul Airport on Thursday evening, France has warned that there may be more explosions there. The French Ambassador to Afghanistan said that the situation in Afghanistan is worrying and there may be another blast there.