THE REIGN OF TERROR
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US MILITARY chiefs last night warned the terrorists behind yesterday’s Kabul airport bombings which killed up to 100 people including 12 American soldiers, “We’re coming for you.”
And the UK vowed to continue the evacuation mission – despite fears of further attacks.
British forces at the airport are now in a terrifying race against the clock to get people out after the US revealed there was intelligence suggesting further strikes – using vehicles or rockets – could be imminent.
Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, said: “If we can find who is associated with this, we will go after them – 24/7 we are looking for them.”
The bombers targeted the Barons
Hotel and a sewage canal area within seconds of each other. The explosions were followed up by gunfire and Taliban fighters were among the dead.
Victims covered in blood were taken from the scene in makeshift trollies and wheelbarrows as ambulances struggled to get through.
One military source told witnesses: “Many died on the way to hospital. The scenes are horrific, absolute carnage. It appears they deliberately targeted civilians outside the airport.”
Habib Rahman, 30, from Liverpool, travelled to Afghanistan last week to bring his wife, children and step-brother back to the UK.
They were queueing at the airport, at Abbey Gate, when a blast went off.
He said: “We were just a few yards away. I saw people run out and each was covered in blood. I saw hundreds of people blown up in front of me. I won’t sleep because of the blood I’ve seen today.”
Habib and his family suffered minor injuries but he said they were “safe”. Tory MP Nus Ghani was on the phone to someone who was at Kabul airport when the attacks happened.
The Wealden MP tweeted: “Explosion at Kabul airport. I was on the phone to an Afghan outside the airport when he heard the explosion.
“Praying that he gets away safely and we get his family safe passage out of this nightmare.”
The blast happened just hours after two suspected Islamic State fighters were seized by the Taliban as they looked for gaps in airport security.
After chairing an emergency Cobra meeting in Downing Street following the blasts, PM Boris Johnson insisted UK troops would press on with the evacuation, codenamed Operation Pitting.
He said: “This threat of a terrorist attack is one of the constraints that we’ve been operating under in Operation Pitting, and we’ve been ready for it, we’ve been prepared for it. We’re able to continue with the programme. That’s what we’re going to do. The overwhelming majority of those who are eligible have now been extracted from Afghanistan.
“We’re going to work flat out – the military, the Foreign Office teams, the Home Office, the Border Force teams that are there – getting people
through as fast as they can still.
We’re going to keep going up until the last moment.”
General McKenzie said it was assumed the bombs were targeted at US checkpoints. He said further attacks could be carried out with small or large vehicles and the US had received intelligence such plans had been made. He also said insurgents had wanted to strike with a rocket.
McKenzie added “some attacks” had “been thwarted” by the Taliban.
If we can find who is associated with this, we will go after them, 24/7 GENERAL FRANK McKENZIE US MARINE CORPS
He said: “We give them enough to act in time and space to prevent these attacks.
“We share versions of this information with the Taliban so they can do some searching out there for us, and we believe that some attacks have been thwarted by them.”
The Record understands British Paras defending the Kabul evacuation took up defensive positions amid escalating warnings of follow-up bomb and missile attacks. We can also reveal non-military UK staff at the airport were taken to a reinforced bunker amid fears of a drone attack.
As it was reported that 11 US Marines and a Navy medic were among the dead, US president Joe Biden came under mounting pressure to continue evacuations.
But experts said only US military would now be airlifted out, leaving thousands of desperate locals behind in Afghanistan as the country teeters on the brink of civil war.
Biden has ordered all troops out of Afghanistan by August 31 to comply with a deal made with the Taliban. British officials had warned for two days there was intelligence about an “imminent attack” on the airport, which is secured by UK and US troops.
But yesterday afternoon, a Western diplomat in Kabul said areas outside the airport gates were “incredibly crowded” again despite the warnings.
Isis in the Khorasan claimed responsibility last night, saying a suicide bomber “managed to reach a large gathering of translators and collaborators with the American army”. It was aimed at discrediting the Taliban’s takeover and the West’s evacuation bid.
The “complex attack”, which strikes confusion into targets before following up with more slaughter from gunfire or a second bomb, is a recognised ISK method.