Many persons have been feared dead and others injured as an explosion rocked outside Kabul Airport in Afghanistan, the Pentagon has confirmed.
The incident occurred hours after the US, UK and Australia missions warned their citizens not to go to the airport, indicating that an unspecified terror attack was imminent around the area.
Officials offered no casualty count, but the Taliban has said several people appeared to have been killed or wounded.
The explosion has occurred at the Abbey gate entrance where British troops have been stationed in recent days. It was one of three gates that had been closed followings warnings of a terrorist threat.
Details of the explosion at Kabul airport remain unclear. There have been some reports of gunfire on the ground.
A Taliban official has said that at least 11 people have been killed in the attack on Kabul airport.
The official said the number included women and children and that a number of Taliban guards had also been wounded.
There has, however, been no independent confirmation of the casualty figures.
A US official has told Reuters news agency the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber.
“We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can,” John Kirby, a retired US Navy admiral and Pentagon Press Secretary, tweeted on Thursday.
The Turkish defence ministry has said there were two explosions outside Kabul airport. There is no confirmation.
Kirby later confirmed in a series of tweets that there were two explosions – one at the gate of the airport and the other at a hotel close to the airport.
He added that there was a “number of US & civilian casualties” but did not provide specific information.
“We can confirm that the explosion near the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport has resulted in an unknown number of casualties. We will continue to update.
“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. We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate. We will continue to update,” the Pentagon Press Secretary tweeted.
Adam Khan, an Afghan waiting outside the airport, said the explosion went off in a crowd of people waiting to enter the airport. Khan, who said he was standing about 30 meters (yards) away, said several people appeared to have been killed or wounded, including some who lost body parts.
Afghan journalist, Bilal Sarwary – who was evacuated from the country a few days ago – said the explosion at Kabul airport occurred in a sewage canal where Afghan refugees were having their visa documents vetted.
Sarwary reports that a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the crowd of people before a second attacker started opening fire.
The White House has confirmed that President Joe Biden has been briefed on developments.
A UK Ministry of Defence source said: “We don’t have any record of UK military casualties but it’s too early to know for sure.”
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, had 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.”
Additional reporting from AP and BBC
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