Multiple people killed in Kabul explosions
MULTIPLE people have been killed in at least two explosions in a suspected attack near Kabul airport following warnings terrorists were preparing to strike in the final phase of the evacuation effort.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed two blasts occurred in a “complex attack” outside Hamid Karzai International Airport yesterday, and there were “a number of US and civilian casualties”.
British officials did not think at an early stage there were any UK casualties, military or civilian, during the incident in Kabul and believed there were two explosions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said twin suicide attacks outside the airport, which has been the centre of the effort to help people flee Afghanistan, killed at least 13 people and wounded 15.
Mr Kirby said at least one explosion took place at or near the Baron Hotel, where the UK has been processing Britons and Afghans eligible for evacuation after the Taliban seized control of the nation.
A short distance away, he said another blast occurred near the Abbey Gate of Kabul’s airport.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired an emergency Cobra meeting later yesterday after being updated on the situation.
The Ministry of Defence did not confirm or deny whether Isis-K was behind the explosions, after earlier warnings about the affiliate of the Islamic State terror group in Afghanistan. Armed forces minister James Heappey had warned that there was “very credible reporting” of an “imminent” and “severe” terror threat.
He had urged people queuing outside the airport trying to flee the Taliban to move to safety amid concerns surrounding the terror cell.
Alicia Kearns, a member of the foreign affairs and national security strategy committees, said there had been “many hurt” in an attack at the Baron Hotel. The Conservative MP
tweeted: “A bomb or attack with gun fire at northern gate of Baron’s Hotel. Worried this will devastate evacuation - so many hurt. My heart is with all those injured and killed.”
Her colleague Nus Ghani said she was on the phone to somebody outside Kabul airport when the blast took place.
“Explosion at Kabul airport. I was on the phone to an Afghan outside the airport when he heard the explosion,” the MP tweeted.
She later said he was “OK” and was heading to a “safe house”.
The Ministry of Defence said it is “working urgently” to establish what happened in Kabul and “its impact on the ongoing evacuation effort”.
“Our primary concern remains the safety of our personnel, British citizens and the citizens of Afghanistan,” a statement added.
For the US military, Mr Kirby tweeted: “We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties.”