A source in the Afghan Health Ministry informed on Friday that the number of victims after the Kabul Airport terrorist attacks reached 110 while the number of injured went over 1,330 people with Pentagon confirming 13 US Marines among the dead, media report.
Amid the ramped up evacuation efforts of the Western military contingent on Thursday, at least four explosions occurred near the Kabul airport, two of which killed at least 72 civilians.
Several countries have condemned the attacks, including Russia, France, Turkey and India.
The horrific terror attacks came among the intensive evacuation efforts of many states trying to airlift to safety their citizens and diplomatic personnel as well as the Afghan refugees who helped the US and Coalition forces during the 20-year war.
The heartbreaking footage just hours before the explosions showing crowds of people crammed outside Kabul airport despite the warnings that a major terror attack is imminent and the suicide bombing massacre with bodies of children, women and men shows the desperation of people to leave Afghanistan before the US troops August 31 withdrawal deadline.
According to the terrorist group’s propaganda outlet soon after the carnage, Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport, allegedly accusing the Taliban of collaborating with the US troops to protect and evacuate spies.
The terrorist group also identified the suicide bomber that attacked Abbey Gate at the airport as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, bragging he penetrated the US military and Taliban militia security measures set up outside the airport and managed get within five meters of American troops processing the documents of allied contractors and translators, leaving behind dozens wounded and dead.
The commander of the US Central Command, US Marine Corps General Kenneth Franklin McKenzie Jr., has previously blamed the splinter jihadist group Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K/IS-K) for the airport attack as well as for the close-by bombing at the Baron hotel.
Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies’ data shows that in addition to around 250 clashes with the US, Afghan, and Pakistani security forces, ISIS-K carried out nearly 100 attacks on civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan throughout 2017 and 2018.
ISIS-K has clashed in the past even with the Taliban, who claim that they’ve lost more people than the Americans- at least 28 Taliban fighters- in two suicide bombings that rocked the Afghan capital and vowed to increase security at the Kabul airport and at all airfields around the country to prevent future terrorist attacks.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the bombings on Thursday, adding they will not allow terrorists to use Afghanistan as a base for their operations.
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