Update 2:45 p.m.: The number of Americans killed in the attack at the Kabul airport now stands at 12. That number will likely grow as more becomes known.
The U.S. ambassador in Kabul says that four U.S. Marines were killed in the suicide bombings at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to a report from Wall Street Journal. At least three U.S. troops were injured, according to a U.S. official.
In total, there are at least 40 dead and 120 wounded from the explosions, according to various media reports. It is likely those numbers will increase.
There have been two explosions at the hands of suicide bombers, one at the Abbey Gate of the airport, and a second at the nearby Baron Hotel.
According to Politico, ISIS militants carried out the attacks. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby called the explosion at Abbey Gate “the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties.”
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul had issued a warning to U.S. citizens stranded in the country to avoid the airport late Wednesday, due to security threats.
“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 threat read. “U.S. citizens who are at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately.”
The last American combat deaths in Afghanistan took place on February 8, 2020—eighteen months and eighteen days ago.
Joe Biden was reportedly reluctant to conduct rescue operations in Afghanistan over fears of a Black Hawk Down moment.
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