US, Afghan officials: At least 72 killed in airport attack Including 12 Service Members

UPDATE 2:00 PM:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says at least 60 Afghans were killed and another 143 were wounded in the attack outside Kabul airport. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. U.S. officials say 12 military service members were also killed in the attack outside the airport.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport Thursday, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. At least 22 people were killed and dozens wounded.

The dead include 11 Marines and one Navy medic, according to two U.S. officials. They said another 12 service members were wounded and warned the toll could grow.

One of the bombers struck people standing knee-deep in a wastewater canal under the sweltering sun, throwing bodies into the fetid water. Those who moments earlier had hoped to get on flights out could be seen carrying the wounded to ambulances in a daze, their own clothes darkened with blood.

A U.S. official said the complex attack was believed to have been carried out by the Islamic State group. The IS affiliate in Afghanistan is far more radical than the Taliban, who recently took control of the country in a lightning blitz and condemned the attack.

Western officials had warned of a major attack, urging people to leave the airport, but that advice went largely unheeded by Afghans desperate to escape the country in the last few days of an American-led evacuation before the U.S. officially ends its 20-year presence on Aug. 31.

Emergency, an Italian charity that operates hospitals in Afghanistan, said it had received at least 60 patients wounded in the airport attack, in addition to 10 who were dead when they arrived.

“Surgeons will be working into the night,” said Marco Puntin, the charity’s manager in Afghanistan. The wounded overflowed the triage zone into the physiotherapy area and more beds were being added, he said.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said there were casualties, including among members of the military, but gave no figure. He said one explosion was near an airport entrance and another was a short distance away by a hotel.

Even as the area was hit, evacuation flights continued to take off from Kabul airport.

Adam Khan was waiting nearby when he saw the first explosion outside what’s known as the Abbey gate. He said several people appeared to have been killed or wounded, including some who were maimed.

UPDATE: 10:01AM:

Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry says a second explosion has gone off outside Kabul airport. The twin suicide attacks killed at least 13 people and wounded another 15. U.S. officials said that American personnel were wounded in the blast, without elaborating. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations. The blasts happened outside the airport, where thousands of Afghans have gathered hoping to join a U.S.-led airlift after the Taliban takeover.

UPDATED: 9:51AM

Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The Russian Foreign Ministry says a suicide attack outside Kabul airport killed at least two people and wounded 15. It was the first official report specifying a number of casualties from Thursday’s explosion, which occurred among crowds of people outside the airport. Thousands of Afghans have flocked to the airport hoping to board a U.S.-led airlift since the Taliban took over the country earlier this month.

UPDATED: 9:30AM

Associated Press 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 from Thursday’s blast. The explosion occurred as Western nations are struggling to evacuate people following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Original post:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – An explosion has gone off outside the Kabul airport.

Thousands of people have flocked there 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 Thursday. At least 3 U.S. troops were wounded. .

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 before the evacuation effort ends, few appeared to heed the call.