Explosions at the airport of the capital of Afghanistan: 170 people died, among them there are Americans

At the airport of the capital of Afghanistan 26 of August a powerful explosion thundered... At the time, there were thousands of people who tried to flee the country. According to the latest data, at least 170 people were killed and about 150 injured, a health official in Kabul said. The publication told about this in more detail. with the BBC.

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Among American military personnel, according to updated Pentagon data, 13 people were killed and 18 were injured. Ten of those killed served in the Marine Corps.

The first explosion occurred in a crowd of refugees at one of the entrances to the airport, the second - next to the first, near the Baron Hotel, from where the US military was transporting people to the airport.

According to some reports, the first bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber among the people standing in line at the airport gates. Eyewitnesses say that after the explosion, the suicide bomber's accomplice started shooting at people.

The second explosion also occurred in the area of ​​the airport near the Baron Hotel, which the US military used during this week as a staging post during the evacuation.

Hospitals, already struggling with staff cuts since the Taliban took office a week ago, have been overcrowded.

The Kabul Surgical Center, run by the international medical charity Emergency, said 60 wounded were brought there in less than two hours, of which at least 16 were already dead.

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The president of the organization, Rossella Michio, said that staff who had already finished their shifts immediately returned to the hospital to help: “Three operating rooms in the hospital worked all night. The last patient was operated on at 04:00. "

ISIS took responsibility

The Islamic State (ISIS) group claimed responsibility for the two explosions and promised more attacks, writes with the BBC.

The governments of the United States, Great Britain and Germany warned that a powerful terrorist attack could occur in the airport area during the day.

Details of the threat have not been made public, but it is believed that it may be linked to the Wilayat Khorasan group, part of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

ISIS announced the creation of Vilayat Khorasan in January 2015.

According to available information, it mainly includes former Taliban fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Vilayat is considered tougher against Islam. At the same time, this group is at enmity with the Taliban.

They are considered "apostates" in Vilayat, which, according to ISIS, recognizes the killing of the Taliban as "legal."

The Islamic State condemned the 2020 ceasefire between the Taliban and the United States and insisted that the armed struggle should continue.

For example, they consider Taliban control over Afghanistan part of a secret agreement with the United States.

In 2019-2020, Vilayat Khorasan suffered heavy defeats and lost several leaders.

But the group was able to resurrect and claimed responsibility for the attacks during peace talks between the Taliban and the United States.

Warned of the threat

Western countries evacuating their citizens and working with them Afghans through the Kabul airport, all day on August 26, warned of the grave threat of a terrorist attack and urged people not to come to the airport.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that despite the attacks, the Allies must continue to evacuate and remove as many of those threatened by the Taliban as possible from Afghanistan.

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“It is simply unacceptable for the United States or any civilized nation to trust the Taliban to provide security,” said Ambassador Nathan Sales, a former special envoy for the global coalition to defeat ISIS under President Donald Trump.

US forces need to immediately take control of the Kabul airport perimeter to prevent another attack during the evacuation process, he said.

Biden reaction

The United States intends to strike at a cell of the ISIS group operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said US President Joe Biden, writes Interfax.

“We will hit its targets and its leaders,” he said speaking at the White House after a series of terrorist attacks in Kabul.

Biden stressed that he is ready to strike at the leaders of the group, regardless of where they are.

“We will not forgive. We won't forget. We will catch you and make you pay,” he said.

The President clarified, they say, "we have reason to believe that we know who we are talking about."

According to Biden, he has no data that indicate the possibility of collusion between the Taliban and ISIS during the attacks near the Kabul airport.

“There is no evidence that there was collusion between the Taliban and ISIS in carrying out this incident,” Biden said.

He noted that such cooperation with ISIS is unprofitable for the Taliban, since they want the United States to quickly and easily complete the operation to evacuate people from Kabul.

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