On 26 August 2021 at 17:50 local time (13:20 UTC), during the evacuation from Afghanistan, a suicide bombing occurred near Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. At least 170 people were killed in the attacks, including 13 members of the United States military, who were the first American military casualties in Afghanistan since February 2020.
Background
After Afghanistan fell to Taliban control
on 15 August 2021, Hamid Karzai International Airport became the only secure
way out of Afghanistan. Security concerns
grew after hundreds of members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant –
Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) escaped from jails at Bagram and Pul-e-Charkhi. Hours before the attack, US diplomats in
Kabul warned American citizens to leave the airport because of security
threats. United Kingdom Armed Forces
Minister James Heappey had also warned of a highly credible threat of attack at
Kabul airport by Islamic State militants.
Embassies from United States, United Kingdom, and Australia also warned
about high security threats on the airport.
US President Joe Biden reportedly
received multiple reports of a possible attack during the week preceding the
attack.
Attack
Amid the 2021 evacuation of Afghanistan,
a crowd of local and foreign civilians had fled to the airport to evacuate. At Abbey Gate, one of the gates leading into
the airport, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive. After the explosion, gunfire erupted, and all
gates to the airport were closed.
An eye witness to the explosion stated
it occurred by a canal with American forces on one side; checking evacuees
passports, visas and other documentation before allowing them inside the
airport. Another stated that the explosion felt as if someone pulled the ground
from under his feet, and saw other evacuees thrown in the air by the force of
the blast.
Victims
At least 170 people were killed during
the attack, including at least 62 Afghan civilians, 28 Taliban members, 13 US
service members, two British nationals and the child of a third British
national.
At least 200 more people were injured, including
18 US military personnel and more Taliban members. The dead Americans were identified as ten marines,
two soldiers, and one Navy corpsman. The
US deaths were the first US service deaths in Afghanistan since February 2020
and were the largest single loss of life of US military personnel since the 2011
Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown.
Responsibility
The attack was carried out by ISIL-K,
who released a statement in which they claimed responsibility for the attack
and named the suicide bomber.
ISIS-K reportedly has strong connections
with the Haqqani network, which is linked to the Taliban. ISIS-K and the
Taliban are, however, enemies that have been involved in a long, deadly
conflict. The leader of the Haqqani
network, Khalil Haqqani, is currently in charge of security in Kabul. A number of ISIS-K militants were reportedly
released by the Taliban on 15 August from Pul-e-Charkhi prison, along with all
the other prisoners there.
Reactions
Through a tweet by their spokesperson,
the Taliban condemned the attack, saying "evil circles will be strictly
stopped".
Abdullah Abdullah, former Chief
Executive of Afghanistan and current National Coalition of Afghanistan leader,
condemned the attack. Some civilians
claimed to reporters that the attacks had strengthened their resolve to
evacuate from the country in fear of more attacks.
U.S. President Joe Biden made a public
address following the attacks. He honored the American service members who were
killed in the attacks, calling them "heroes" and saying they lost
their lives "in the service of liberty", and stated that the U.S. had
evacuated more than 100,000 Americans, Afghans, and others. He expressed deep
sorrow for the Afghan victims as well. Biden said to those who wished harm upon
the US that "we will hunt you down and make you pay." The government of the United Kingdom also
said that they will continue Operation Pitting, the evacuation from
Afghanistan.
Many nations expressed condemnation for
the Kabul airport attacks and solidarity with the victims and troops conducting
evacuations at the airport. The European
Commission and the United Nations likewise condemned the attacks. German
Chancellor Angela Merkel cancelled an upcoming trip to Israel, and will stay in
Germany to monitor the evacuation of German troops. Biden also rescheduled a meeting with visiting
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett because of the attacks. The United Kingdom said civilian evacuations
would continue in spite of the attacks.
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