The Pentagon says there was an explosion outside Kabul airport.
By SAYED ZIARMAL HASHEMI, JILL LAWLESS and JON GAMBRELL KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan man says he saw several people who appeared to be killed or wounded in an explosion among crowds waiting outside one of the gates to Kabul airport. Adam Khan says some people appeared to be missing body parts. He says he was about 30 meters (yards) from Thursday’s blast. The explosion occurred as Western nations are struggling to evacuate people following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An explosion went off Thursday outside Kabul’s airport, where thousands of people have flocked as they try to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Western nations had warned of a possible attack there in the waning days of a massive airlift. The Pentagon confirmed the blast, with no immediate word on casualties. Suspicion for any attack targeting the crowds would likely fall on the Islamic State group and not the Taliban, who have been deployed at the airport’s gates trying to control the mass of people. Several countries urged people to avoid the airport earlier in the day, with one saying there was a threat of a suicide bombing. But just days — or even hours for some nations — before the evacuation effort ends, few appeared to heed the call. Over the last week, the airport has been the scene of some of the most searing images of the chaotic end of America’s longest war and the Taliban’s takeover, as flight after flight took off carrying those who fear a return to the militants’ brutal rule. Already, some countries have ended their evacuations and begun to withdraw their soldiers and diplomats, signaling the beginning of the end of one of history’s largest airlifts. The Taliban have pledged not to attack Western forces during the evacuation, but insist the foreign troops must be out by America’s self-imposed deadline of Aug.31. Overnight, warnings emerged from Western capitals about a threat from Afghanistan’s Islamic State group affiliate, which likely has seen its ranks boosted by the Taliban’s freeing of prisoners during their blitz across the country. British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told the BBC early Thursday there was ”very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack” at the airport, possibly within “hours.” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said his country had received information from the U.S. and other countries about the “threat of suicide attacks on the mass of people.” The acting U.S. ambassador to Kabul, Ross Wilson, said the security threat at the Kabul airport overnight was “clearly regarded as credible, as imminent, as compelling.” But in an interview with ABC News, he would not give details and did not say whether the threat remained. A while later, the blast was reported. U.S. President Joe Biden has been briefed on the explosion, the White House says.
