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Explosion Rocks Kabul Airport As Stranded Americans Still Await Evacuation

Kabul airport
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An explosion rocked the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday, while thousands wait for flights out of the Taliban-controlled country.

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This article will be updated as the story develops.

An explosion rocked the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday as thousands of people were waiting for evacuation flights out of the Taliban-controlled country.

Several outlets reported that the blast occurred at one of the airport’s main entrances, Abbey Gate, and was triggered by at least one ISIS suicide bomber.

The Pentagon confirmed there was an explosion and said there are U.S. military and civilian casualties.

A second explosion occurred outside of the Baron hotel close to the airport.

“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,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby wrote.

According to the Pentagon, at least 12 U.S. service members, including 11 Marines and one Navy medic, were killed in the two explosions and approximately 15 were injured.

The State Department is ordering Americans to leave the area “immediately.”

As of Wednesday, approximately 1,500 Americans were still waiting to be rescued from Afghanistan following the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal operation earlier this month. Shortly after the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban took over the capital city, thousands of Americans, Afghan allies, and others flocked to the airport with the hopes of being airlifted out.

Just one day before the explosion, the U.S. Embassy cautioned Americans against traveling to the airport for evacuation until they were specifically told to do so.

“Because of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so,” the security alert stated.

While some countries such as the United States opted to continue facilitating evacuations despite rising concerns of danger and security threats, other nations such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark opted out of any further airlifts.