Afghanistan updates

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At least 12 members of the US military have died after two bombs exploded near Kabul airport, killing and wounding an unknown number of civilians as western countries scrambled to complete their last evacuation flights.

General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the Pentagon’s central command, said that in addition to the 12 deaths at least 15 troops were injured following the attacks by two suicide bombers believed to be affiliated with Isis.

McKenzie added that he expected Isis to strike again. “We believe it is their desire to continue those attacks . . . and we’re doing everything we can to be prepared,” he said. “If we can find who’s associated with this, we will go after them”.

The casualties on Thursday resulted from a suicide bombing near the airport’s Abbey Gate, followed by a gunman opening fire on civilians and troops. Another blast occurred at or around the nearby Baron hotel, where some evacuees had been congregating.

According to Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors communications from extreme Islamists, Isis claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, which views Isis as a rival, said the group “strongly condemns the bombing at the Kabul airport”. The attack had taken place “in an area where US forces are responsible for security,” he added.

An Afghan official told the Associated Press that at least 60 Afghan civilians had been killed and 143 were injured.

The blast came hours after multiple warnings of security threats complicated attempts to provide safe passage for thousands of people trying to flee Afghanistan.

Western powers are rushing to evacuate thousands of foreigners and Afghans deemed to be at risk of reprisals from the Taliban ahead of a US deadline to pull its last remaining troops out of Afghanistan by August 31. America’s Nato allies had pressed the Biden administration to extend the deadline but Washington rebuffed those requests.

The Taliban also warned that it would not accept an extension of the deadline. The airport has been the site of chaotic scenes since the Taliban seized power last week in the wake of the US’s decision to withdraw from the country.

A further 13,400 people were evacuated from Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, the White House said on Thursday morning, bringing the total number taken out since August 14 to 95,700. 

Lloyd Austin, US secretary of defence, said that despite the attacks the US would “not be dissuaded from the task at hand”.

McKenzie also signalled that the US would stick to the original timeline for its mission. “The plan is designed to operate while under stress, and under attack,” he said. “We’re still committed to flying people out, until we terminate operations at some point towards the end of the month.”

US President Joe Biden was huddling with his top national security officials in the White House situation room on Thursday and is expected to address the nation at 5pm.

The attacks came as other countries are trying to end their rescue missions. British officials expect the last UK airlift of civilians from Kabul to take place on Friday, with UK forces leaving Afghanistan on Saturday. 

Boris Johnson, speaking after the bomb attack, said the evacuation would continue as planned and that “the vast majority” of those eligible to come to the UK had been brought out.

“We’re now coming towards the end of it, to the very end of it, in any event,” he said. “But, clearly, what this attack shows is the importance of continuing that work in as fast and as efficient manner as possible in the hours that remain to us, and that’s what we’re going to do.” 

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Other Nato allies including Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands said they had either ceased or were winding down their evacuation efforts.

The attacks are likely to make it harder for thousands who say they are eligible for evacuation to get into the heavily guarded airport. Flight traffic at Kabul airport has been heavy with foreign military evacuations supplemented by private charter flights sent by international organisations, the Afghan diaspora and other private citizens seeking to help employees, friends and relatives escape.

One of the bombs exploded on a narrow path along a sewage canal, where many Afghans families, including young children, had been queueing, some knee-deep in fetid water, in hopes of entering the airport. 

The Taliban has insisted all foreign troops must leave Afghanistan by the end of the month to restore civilian commercial flight services from Kabul. But the Taliban also wants to stem the exodus of Afghans and has blocked locals from reaching the airport. Many planes sent to evacuate at-risk Afghans, including private charters, have left Kabul nearly empty, according to people arranging the flights.

The Biden administration has come under heavy criticism from US allies and American lawmakers over the chaotic exit from Afghanistan, which they said risked leaving many vulnerable people stuck in the country.

Additional reporting by Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad