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The family of a 23-year-old Marine from Omaha said Friday he was among 13 US service members killed in the suicide bombing attack at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, AP reports.
Corporal Daegan William-Tyeler Page served in the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment based at Camp Pendleton, California.
The family said Page was raised in Red Oak, Iowa, and the Omaha metro area and joined the Marines after graduating from Millard South High School.
He is mourned by his girlfriend, parents, stepmom and stepdad, four siblings and grandparents, the family said in a statement released through a family friend. The statement said the family did not wish to speak to the media at this time.
“Daegan will always be remembered for his tough outer shell and giant heart,” the statement said.
“Our hearts are broken, but we are thankful for the friends and family who are surrounding us during this time. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the other Marine and Navy families whose loved ones died alongside Daegan.”
Hi, Helen Sullivan joining you now from Sydney. I’ll be bringing you the latest developments in Afghanistan for the next few hours. As always, you can get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
A summary of today's developments
- The UK’s ability to process any more evacuations from Afghanistan is now “extremely reduced”, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) warned, as the focus turned to getting diplomats and service personnel out of the country. The MoD said 14,543 people had now been extracted from Kabul since 13 August, a mix of Afghan and British nationals.
- France will maintain contacts with Taliban officials in Afghanistan to ensure that at-risk people can leave the country now that the French evacuation operation is over, the country’s foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
- Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, denied claims that the Taliban had taken over parts of Kabul airport. “I saw that report. It’s false,” he said.
- The Taliban has made clear it wants US diplomatic presence to remain in Afghanistan, according to the US State Department.
- Texas governor Greg Abbott has confirmed US Marine David Lee Espinoza was among those killed in yesterday’s bombing.
- The UK’s Ministry of Defence says former Royal Marine Paul “Pen” Farthing, who runs an animal sanctuary in Afghanistan, and his pets are being helped out of the country.
- The last German troops returned to the northern air base of Wunstorf on Friday, after evacuating more than 5,300 people from 45 nations out of Kabul airport over the past 11 days. Three military aircraft landed on the base, greeted by fire engines spraying fountains of water for the planes to pass through as a welcome ceremony, Reuters reports.
- A US Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who posted a video demanding accountability from military leaders over the evacuation of Afghanistan has been relieved of his duties and will leave US service. Stuart Scheller posted his video to Facebook and LinkedIn on Thursday, the day 13 US service members, 11 of them Marines, and reportedly as many as 170 Afghans, were killed in a suicide bomb attack at the airport in Kabul.
- The number of Afghans killed in the Islamic State suicide bomb attack on Kabul airport rose to 79, with more than 120 wounded, some still in hospital. The bombing also killed 13 US service members.
- Two British nationals and the child of a British national were among those killed, the UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said. Two more British nationals were injured.
- There was one suicide bomber attack and not two, as previously stated, the Pentagon clarified.
- A “credible” terror threat remains as the airlift continues, the Pentagon said. A spokesperson said: ““We still believe there are credible threats, in fact I’d say specific credible threats, and we want to make sure we’re prepared for those.”
- Up to half a million Afghans could flee the crisis in their homeland, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said, appealing to all neighbouring countries to keep their borders open for those seeking safety.
- An “unprecedented” number of people are travelling from Afghanistan to Pakistan through the official border crossing after the airport suicide attack has driven more to try to flee the country.
- Anxious crowds of Afghans still hoping to join the western evacuation airlift from Kabul crowded airport gates less than a day after the bombing as flights resumed with fresh urgency.
A High Court judge has ordered ministers to take “reasonable steps” to get relatives of an Afghan man recruited by the British Government out of Afghanistan.
Lawyers representing the man, who now lives in the UK, took legal action against Home Secretary Priti Patel after Government officials said his family members were not eligible for removal.
The Foreign Office was listed as an interested party in the case.
Lawyers representing the UK’s government “resisted” the man’s claim and said the decision was not wrong.
But Mrs Justice Foster made a ruling in the man’s favour at a High Court hearing in London, PA reports.
A government spokesman said later: “Our immediate priority is to evacuate those in danger in Afghanistan in order to save lives.
“Since the start of our evacuation on August 15, we have secured the safe return of over 10,000 people.”
France will maintain contacts with Taliban officials in Afghanistan to ensure that at-risk people can leave the country now that the French evacuation operation is over, the country’s foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
Le Drian, in a joint statement with defence minister Florence Parly, said the French operation to fly people out of Kabul airport had to end on Friday evening because security was not assured and because US forces were swiftly leaving, Reuters reports.
Updated
The British government has acknowledged that more can be done to help Afghan nationals and their families settle in Britain.
Britain earlier announced plans to welcome up to 5,000 Afghans fleeing the Taliban during the first year of a new resettlement programme that will prioritise women, girls and religious and other minorities.
“Approximately only 5% of councils have declined to sign up to our relocation and assistance scheme and close to a third of councils have already stepped up to support new arrivals, but we know there is more that can be done for those that have risked their lives supporting us,” a UK government spokesperson told Reuters.
“This is why we are calling on all councils who have not yet come forward with a firm offer of support to help Afghan nationals and their families as they build a new life here in safety,” the spokesperson said.
The Telegraph newspaper reporter earlier that around 30 councils have refused to take any Afghan refugees who have arrived in the UK after fleeing the Taliban.
“We do not recognise these figures,” the government spokesperson added.
“Councils in England, Scotland and Wales will have access to a share of an additional £5 million to help them provide the necessary housing and support to Afghans who have worked for this country in Afghanistan, but who now face threats of persecution or worse,” the statement added.
Updated
A US Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who posted a video demanding accountability from military leaders over the evacuation of Afghanistan has been relieved of his duties and will leave US service, the Marines and the officer involved said on Friday.
Stuart Scheller posted his video to Facebook and LinkedIn on Thursday, the day 13 US service members, 11 of them Marines, and reportedly as many as 170 Afghans, were killed in a suicide bomb attack at the airport in Kabul.
“I have been fighting for 17 years,” said Scheller, then commander of the advanced infantry training battalion. “I am willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders: ‘I demand accountability.’”
Scheller said he knew someone killed in Kabul, but was making his video “because I have a growing discontent and contempt for … perceived ineptitude at the foreign policy level, and I want to specifically ask some questions to some of my senior leaders.”
Over 14,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan by the UK government
The UK’s ability to process any more evacuations from Afghanistan is now “extremely reduced”, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has warned, as the focus turned to getting diplomats and service personnel out of the country.
The MoD said 14,543 people had now been extracted from Kabul since 13 August, a mix of Afghan and British nationals.
Some 8,000 of those were Afghans and their families under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme, which applies to those who helped the UK and are at risk of persecution by the Taliban.
But Operation Pitting – the name for the evacuation effort – is drawing to a close.
Already the Baron Hotel facility, which was being used to process those leaving the country by British officials, has closed.
The MoD said this would allow a focus on evacuating the British nationals and others who have already been processed and are at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
But the department said “the UK’s ability to process further cases is now extremely reduced and additional numbers will be limited”, and no-one else would now be called forward.
Evacuating all those already processed will now free up space on military aircraft to bring diplomats and military personnel home, PA reports.
Updated
Texas governor Greg Abbott has confirmed US Marine David Lee Espinoza was among those killed in yesterday’s bombing.
I ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff to honor the U.S. service members killed in yesterday’s horrific attack in Kabul.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 27, 2021
U.S. Marine David Lee Espinoza, a Laredo native, was one of the 13 service members killed.
He was 20 years old.
These heroes should never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/2QVSBhZdGV
Major General Charlie Herbert, who undertook three tours of Afghanistan, has criticised the decision to allow former Marine Pen Farthing to bring his animals onto a flight out of Kabul.
“You put his dogs and cats above the ten Afghan families that I’ve been trying to get into the EHC for the last 72 hours. You utter b*******. I will never forgive you,” he wrote on Twitter. The MoD earlier said Mr Farthing, who runs an animal shelter in Kabul, and his animals were cleared to take a flight they had privately chartered.
You put his dogs and cats above the ten Afghan families that I’ve been trying to get into the EHC for the last 72 hours. You utter bastards. I will never forgive you @BWallaceMP @PenFarthing @Nowzad https://t.co/UIXYoq426Q
— Charlie Herbert (@Charlie533080) August 27, 2021
Tonight the Foreign Secretary @DominicRaab and Prime Minister @BorisJohnson visited the FCDO's Crisis Centre.
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) August 27, 2021
They thanked staff for the enormous government effort in helping to evacuate British nationals & resettle thousands of men, women and children from Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/Zz0TSwp3RT
At the Pentagon, General Glen VanHerck, the head of the US Northern Command, has been briefing journalists on the military role in hosting the inflow of Afghan refugees.
He said over 6,000 have arrived in the US and are being housed in four military bases: Fort Lee in Virginia, Fort Bliss in Texas, Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.
VanHerck said his command had been instructed to build capacity to host 50,000 Afghans.
Three more bases have been authorised to house more Afghans as they arrive: Marine Corps Base Quantico, Fort Pickett in Virginia, and Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
Updated
Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, denied claims that the Taliban had taken over parts of Kabul airport.
“I saw that report. It’s false,” he said.
“The Taliban are not in charge of any of the gates.
“They are not in charge of any of the airport operations. That is still under US military control.”
The last German troops returned to the northern air base of Wunstorf on Friday, after evacuating more than 5,300 people from 45 nations out of Kabul airport over the past 11 days.
Three military aircraft landed on the base, greeted by fire engines spraying fountains of water for the planes to pass through as a welcome ceremony, Reuters reports. The aircraft brought home more than 300 soldiers involved in the evacuations, with paratroopers, special forces, military police, medical staff and dog handlers with their dogs among them. “You have seen the outrageous and achieved incredible things,” said German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who had welcomed the troops at their stop-over in the Uzbek capital Tashkent and travelled back with them. The German military ended its airlift from Kabul airport late on Thursday after evacuating 5,347 people, including more than 4,100 Afghans.
Ned Price, the US state department spokesman, said that “the vast majority” of Afghan staff at the US embassy and their families “are now safely out of Afghanistan or at the airport compound for evacuation”.
Price said the state department was in touch with some 500 American nationals still in Afghanistan about the evacuation.
“They are making these decisions and sometimes reversing these decisions, multiple times a day,” Price said, stressing that the US obligation to extricate US citizens would not stop on 31 August.
Ned Price, the US state department spokesman, has been briefing journalists on Afghanistan this afternoon.
On the question of whether there will continue to be a US diplomatic mission in Kabul after 31 August, Price said the Taliban had asked for US diplomats to stay but no final decision had been taken.
“They have made very clear to us in our communication, they would like to see an American diplomatic presence remain,” Price said.
“Ultimately of course it’s not up to the Taliban, it’s a determination that we will need to make consistent with our overriding responsibility and that is the safety and security of American officials.
“It is a decision we plan to discuss with our allies and partners as well.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there is no reason to recognise the Taliban as an official government yet.
“I want to be really clear: there’s no rush to recognition of any sort by the United States or any international partners we have talked to,” she said.
Taliban wants US diplomatic presence to remain in Afghanistan
The Taliban has made clear it wants US diplomatic presence to remain in Afghanistan, according to the US State Department.
Joe Biden’s national security team has warned him that US troops remain under threat of another terrorist attack just 24 hours after the devastating suicide bomb at Kabul airport that killed 13 US service members and at least 170 Afghans.
As US troops brace themselves for a possible further terror attack, the US president was facing mounting bipartisan criticism over his handling of the mass evacuation. The recriminations following the deadliest day for the US military in a decade came not only from familiar Republican antagonists but also from prominent members of his own party.
US forces are racing against the clock to meet Tuesday’s deadline to complete the withdrawal from Afghanistan and bring to an end almost 20 years of the so-called “forever war”. But security risks continue to cause alarm.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged the Biden administration did not anticipate how quickly the Afghan government would fall or how completely the Afghan military would fold.
“There are consequences to any of these difficult choices and decisions,” Psaki said. “That is what faces you as commander-in-chief.”
Psaki was asked whether Biden believed he was given bad advice from his generals on Afghanistan and if the president will be requesting any resignations.
“No to both of those questions,” she replied.
Updated
The White House says 5,100 US citizens have been evacuated from Afghanistan since August 14th and it is working with 500 citizens to help them leave the country.
Here is more from Turkey’s President Erdoğan, who said a battle of “terrorist organisations” had taken hold in Afghanistan.
We did what we were responsible for and as of tonight, all our personnel there has been withdrawn,” Erdoğan said at a press conference in Sarajevo, alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina leaders.
“There will only be a small technical group left.”
He said it was unclear what kind of conflict the Taliban and Islamic State would engage in in Afghanistan, Reuters reports.
Updated
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is holding her daily press briefing.
She was asked to clarify Joe Biden’s message yesterday to the terrorists who carried out the deadly attack. Biden said in his address to the nation yesterday: “To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: we will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.” Asked what it would look like for Biden to make the terrorists pay, Psaki said: “I think he made clear yesterday that he does not want them to live on the Earth any more.”
Updated
Turkey has become the latest country to stop evacuations from Afghanistan.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said a technical group of Turks would remain in the country, Reuters reports.
Updated
The US president, Joe Biden, has directed the Department of Homeland Security to take the lead in relocating Afghans fleeing their country and coming to the US, the White House said.
“Already, DHS has been working closely with agencies across government, including our military, diplomats, intelligence community and law enforcement professionals, and many others to ensure that all Afghans are screened and vetted prior to being allowed into the United States,” the White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, told reporters.
Updated
Afghans with valid documents will be able to travel in the future at any time, a senior Taliban official said in a televised address aimed at calming fears the movement planned harsh restrictions on freedom.
“The Afghan borders will be open and people will be able to travel at any time into and out of Afghanistan,” Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, deputy head of the movement’s political commission, said.
Calling on Afghans to unite to rebuild their country, Stanikzai said that trained and educated people should come back to work, Reuters reports.
“The ground is prepared for the doctors, engineers and teachers that Afghanistan needs and for people from every profession, whether civilian or military. All are invited to start their work,” he said.
However, CNN has reported that Taliban members manning checkpoints have started turning away some US passport holders and permanent residents.
Updated
The Taliban will ask Qatar for technical assistance in operating Kabul airport, the Al Jazeera news channel reported.
The Taliban have asked Turkey for technical help to run the airport after next Tuesday’s deadline for all foreign military forces to pull out of Afghanistan, an ultimatum they say applies equally to Turkish troops.
Earlier today, two officials told Reuters Turkey will not help run the airport after Nato’s withdrawal unless the Taliban agree to a Turkish security presence, after deadly attacks outside the airport highlighted the perils of any such mission.
Updated
The UK’s Ministry of Defence says former Royal Marine Paul “Pen” Farthing, who runs an animal sanctuary in Afghanistan, and his pets are being helped out of the country.
Pen Farthing and his pets were assisted through the system at Kabul airport by the UK Armed Forces. They are currently being supported while he awaits transportation.
— Ministry of Defence Press Office (@DefenceHQPress) August 27, 2021
Updated
US advisers told President Joe Biden that the next few days of the evacuation mission from Afghanistan would be the most dangerous to date, the White House said, after an attack in Kabul left scores dead, Reuters reports.
The advisers told Biden that another attack in Kabul is likely, even as they prepared plans to strike Islamic State militants in response to the first incident, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement, adding that US commanders told Biden they have the resources they need.
“The next few days of this mission will be the most dangerous period to date,” Psaki said.
Updated
Incredibly sad to learn that British nationals were among those whose lives were taken at Kabul airport yesterday.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 27, 2021
Getting your family to safety should not cost you your life.
We must urgently help those left behind to avoid any more tragic deaths.
Johnson repeated his warning to the Taliban that if any new government in Afghanistan wanted to have engagement with the west, they must allow people who wish to leave the country to do so, PA reports.
He said: “There will be people who are eligible, whether they’re UK nationals who have chosen not to come forward yet, or people who were interpreters and others who haven’t been able to get to come forward to Hamid Karzai international airport so far.
“And what I say to them, is that we will shift heaven and earth to get you out, and we will use all the leverage that we have with the Taliban to make sure that they understand it.”
He said the UK would “continue to talk to the Taliban”.
And he said: “I think that what it certainly shows, what the terrorist attack certainly shows, is that the government of Afghanistan is going to be extremely difficult for whoever is running it, and that’s been the case for a very long time.”
He added that the Taliban “are certainly no friends of Daesh, the Islamic State Khorasan Province, who claim responsibility” for the attack.
Updated
Boris Johnson vows to 'shift heaven and earth' to get people out of Afghanistan
Boris Johnson has said he will “shift heaven and earth” to get people out of Afghanistan after 31 August as he confirmed British deaths in the “contemptible” attack at Kabul airport.
Speaking to broadcasters after the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, confirmed the deaths, the prime minister said he felt “a great sense of regret” about those left behind in Afghanistan, as the evacuation process enters its final stages, PA reports.
Asked about the deaths of two British adults, and a teenager who was a child of a British national, he said: “I think what their loss really underlines is the urgency of getting on and concluding Operation Pitting in the way that we are, and also underlines the bravery of our armed services, our troops, everybody else involved.”
He admitted: “Of course, as we come down to the final hours of the operation there will sadly be people who haven’t got through, people who might qualify.
“What I would say to them is that we will shift heaven and earth to help them get out, we will do whatever we can in the second phase.”
When asked whether the scenes seen in Afghanistan amounted to a national humiliation, he said: “It’s certainly not something that ... the timing of this is certainly not the one that this country would have chosen, and I think that everybody understands that.”
Updated
American spies and special forces will be able to hunt down those behind Thursday’s suicide bombing in Kabul, although the effort may take years, experts and former CIA officials believe, Jason Burke reports.
Joe Biden vowed on Thursday to avenge the 13 US service members who died in a suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport, declaring to the extremists responsible: “We will hunt you down and make you pay.”
Analysts say, however, the US president has few options that will allow him to make good on this pledge – at least in the short term, with US troops withdrawing within days – and the pressure to get quick results is immense.
Read his full report here:
Updated
Medical supplies will run out within days in Afghanistan, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday, announcing that it hopes to establish an air bridge into the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif by then with the help of Pakistani authorities, Reuters reports.
Trauma kits and emergency supplies for hospitals, as well as medicines for treating chronic malnutrition in children are among priority items for Afghanistan, where 18 million people depend on aid, the WHO’s regional emergency director said.
“What remains certain is that humanitarian needs are enormous and growing,” Rick Brennan told a UN briefing.
Updated
Summary
Here are the key developments so far today.
- The number of Afghans killed in the Islamic State suicide bomb attack on Kabul airport rose to 79, with more than 120 wounded, some still in hospital. The bombing also killed 13 US service members.
- Two British nationals and the child of a British national were among those killed, the UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said. Two more British nationals were injured.
- There was one suicide bomber attack and not two, as previously stated, the Pentagon clarified.
- A “credible” terror threat remains as the airlift continues, the Pentagon said. A spokesperson said: ““We still believe there are credible threats, in fact I’d say specific credible threats, and we want to make sure we’re prepared for those.”
-
Up to half a million Afghans could flee the crisis in their homeland, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said, appealing to all neighbouring countries to keep their borders open for those seeking safety.
- An “unprecedented” number of people are travelling from Afghanistan to Pakistan through the official border crossing after the airport suicide attack has driven more to try to flee the country.
- Anxious crowds of Afghans still hoping to join the western evacuation airlift from Kabul crowded airport gates less than a day after the bombing as flights resumed with fresh urgency.
- Opposition MPs accused the UK government of “accounting trickery” after assurances the “lion’s share” of people had been evacuated and that only 1,100 were left to rescue.
Updated
US warns credible threats remain as Kabul airport evacuation continues
The US warned credible threats remained as the evacuation from Kabul airport continues.
A Pentagon spokesman said it would be “irresponsible” not to double down on security measures. “We still believe there are credible threats, in fact I’d say specific credible threats, and we want to make sure we’re prepared for those.”
He added: “Just by virtue of the fact that we may be taking other steps doesn’t mean that they would have necessarily been the proper steps for what we saw yesterday.
“We have additional information. So what you’re seeing us act on, to the degree we can talk about it, is based on information that we have.”
Updated
On the British victims, the PA agency reports it is understood the child who died was a teenager, while those injured are an adult British national and an Afghan child with a British family.
Updated
There is more disbelief at the UK government’s assurances that the “lion’s share” of people had been evacuated and that only 1,100 were left to rescue, Aubrey Allegretti reports.
Labour MP Neil Coyle said: “That claim is total balls. I’ve got written parliamentary questions down on the number of Afghans who’ve helped UK forces, charities and diplomatic effort and it’ll be massive. That figure is a fraction of the total sum and a further slap in the face for the brave Afghans prepared to work with the UK for two decades. That number is more likely to be those on the approved list – most of us are battling to get the Home Office to answer a call or email, let alone get anyone on the approved list. You know the Home Office doesn’t even recognise Persian calendar birth dates for documents or Farsi documents. It’s completely unacceptable – and makes the UK look so ill-prepared.”
He added: “Of 52 cases just four have any progress and the vast majority have no replies. Almost all cases involve multiple people so the suggestion the majority are covered is beyond false. The number left behind will be in the many thousands.”
Updated
Two Britons and child of UK national killed in attack
Two British nationals and the child of a British national were among those killed in the Kabul airport attack, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said.
He said: “I was deeply saddened to learn that two British nationals and the child of another British national were killed by yesterday’s terror attack, with two more injured.
“These were innocent people and it is a tragedy that as they sought to bring their loved ones to safety in the UK they were murdered by cowardly terrorists.”
Updated
US general William Taylor said that “multiple activities have taken place to increase the force protection”. Specifically there was communication with the Taliban about how they were operating their checkpoints, he said. He said there was “a little lessening” of the number of people in and around the gates.
Updated
Here’s some more of what we learned from the latest Pentagon update.
In Kabul, US commanders on the ground continue to assess the risk, and force protection remains paramount with the continued threat.
Yesterday 35 US military aircraft departed with 8,500 personnel.
There were 89 flights out of Kabul in the past 24 hours carrying around 12,500 evacuees. More than 300 were American citizens, bringing the total updated number of US citizens evacuated to around 5,100.
Since the US and coalition forces began the evacuation approximately 111,000 evacuees have departed safely.
The state department and consular officers continue to screen and process people arriving at gates around Kabul. Some gates have been closed. But American citizens, SIV applicants and vulnerable Afghans who have the designated and proper credentials will continue to be processed for departure from the airfield.
There are still around 5,400 individuals on the airport waiting for flights out.
The US has the ability to include evacuees on US military planes until the very end.
Updated
US army general William Taylor told a Pentagon press briefing: “I can confirm that we do not believe that there was a second explosion at or near the Baron hotel. That it was one suicide bomber.
“We’re not sure how that report was provided incorrectly, but we do know it’s not any surprise that in the confusion of very dynamic events like this it can cause information sometimes to be misreported or garbled.
“We felt it was important to correct the record.”
Updated
US believe there was only one suicide bomber after initial reports of two attacks
A senior US military official said the US does not believe there was a second explosion in the Kabul attack, and that there was only one suicide bomber.
Immediately after Thursday’s attack, reports said there appeared to have been two suicide bombers.
During a Pentagon briefing, a US military official said they now believed there was no separate explosion at the Baron hotel.
Updated
A shadow cabinet minister accused the government of “accounting trickery” after assurances the “lion’s share” of people had been evacuated and that only 1,100 Arabs were left to rescue.
They said the “vast majority” of their cases were “unresolved” and said ministers’ insistence “bears little resemblance to the awful reality I’m seeing in my casework”.
Another Labour frontbencher said they had heard “nothing back” from the government on cases they had sought help for. “We’re not being given updates or anything to tell them, it’s like it’s all just getting sucked into an information black hole at the Foreign Office,” they said.
And a third said: “It’s only a small minority of people we’ve been helping that have made it out.”
Yasmin Quereshi, Labour MP for Bolton South East and a former UN lawyer, also said the defence secretary, Ben Wallace’s 1,100 estimate appeared to be “completely wrong”. She said a constituent had four family members, who had served in the Afghan army and policy, who were in hiding and unable to get to Kabul or even apply to the Arap programme.
She said it was not an “isolated incident” and there would be “many others out there” in the same position – adding that she thought there were “thousands more” hoping to be flown out by the RAF before the 31 August deadline.
A Conservative MP said they were helping people escape by routes other than out of Kabul airport, having organised “land convoys” for those trying to make it over the border.
Updated
BBC News foreign producer Tony Brown has posted footage of people boarding planes at Kabul. “Every single person here is fleeing for their life and leaving their entire life behind. It’s quite hard to comprehend,” he tweeted.
Every single person here is fleeing for their life and leaving their entire life behind. It’s quite hard to comprehend. #KabulAiport pic.twitter.com/pnD9L8TRo5
— Tony Brown (@tonyprod77) August 27, 2021
Former US president Barack Obama has said he and wife Michelle were “heartbroken” to hear of the terrorist attack.
Like so many of you, Michelle and I were heartbroken to hear about the terrorist attack outside the Kabul airport that killed and wounded so many U.S. service members, as well as Afghan men, women, and children.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 27, 2021
An “unprecedented” number of people are travelling from Afghanistan to Pakistan through the official border crossing, according to local officials.
My colleagues Shah Meer Baloch and Hannah Ellis-Petersen report that the carnage in Kabul after the airport suicide attack has driven more to try to flee the country.
While Pakistan has said it will not accept any Afghan refugees, the Spin Boldak-Chaman land border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has remained open, and in recent days hundreds of thousands of Afghans have crossed over.
Only people who are travelling to Pakistan for medical treatment or have proof of residence in the country are allowed to cross, but people smugglers have been assisting families to get over the border.
You can read their full report here:
The number of Afghans killed in a suicide bomb attack on Kabul airport on Thursday has risen to 79, a hospital official told Reuters on Friday.
More than 120 people were wounded, some were still in hospital but many had returned home, the official said.
US forces helping to evacuate Afghans desperate to flee new Taliban rule were on alert on Friday after the Islamic State attack, which also killed 13 US.service members.
Spain will keep trying to extract Afghans who worked with western countries in the coming months and years, the prime minister Pedro Sanchez has said, hours after the last two Spanish rescue planes left Kabul for Dubai.
“We are going to work calmly and discreetly. We are already thinking about how to set up an operation to bring back those Afghan allies and their families who we could not evacuate,” he told a news conference.
Sanchez said his government had not ruled out any kind of effort to bring back as many such Afghans as possible.
But he did not specify what that might entail or how many such people remained in the country.
Declaring “mission accomplished,” Sanchez said Spain had evacuated 2,206 people on 17 flights, most of them Afghans who had worked with Spanish forces and the embassy, European Union institutions and with US forces.
Two military planes carrying the last contingent of 81 Spaniards and 83 Afghans out of Kabul arrived in Dubai early on Friday, the government said in a statement. Most of those are set to land at Madrid’s Torrejon airbase later on Friday.
Calling on European nations to present a united front to accommodate the refugees, Sanchez said the west’s hurried exit from Afghanistan would have lasting consequences.
Spain may temporarily host up to 4,000 Afghans who had worked for the United States at two military bases used by the US military in southern Spain.
Spain sent some 27,000 troops to Afghanistan over almost 20 years of involvement in the conflict. A total of 102 of its soldiers died.
Afghan climate activists must be evacuated urgently from the conflict-torn country as they face the threat of persecution under the Taliban, but they are losing time and hope with the 31 August deadline looming, campaigners have told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
A group of nearly 260 activists and their families, aged one to 80 years, have been waiting to be rescued for over a week, said spokespeople for Fridays for Future (FFF), the youth climate movement started by Greta Thunberg.
“If there’s anyone who can help in any way to evacuate the Fridays for Future activists from Afghanistan – please reach out urgently,” Thunberg tweeted on Thursday night.
If there's anyone who can help in anyway to evacuate the Fridays For Future activists from Afghanistan - please reach out urgently.
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) August 26, 2021
(The other tweet had a spelling error) https://t.co/HBqbzgIRLW
The Afghan campaigners have been engaged in climate activism and social justice work in their country.
“Everybody is scared and feeling quite hopeless as the situation is rapidly deteriorating,” said Sarah Greenfield Clark, co-founder of Climate 2025, a non-profit that supports emerging movements.
“We need help. Fridays for Future is a relatively new organisation. We need better links with established humanitarian NGOs and experienced contacts to help us put these names on evacuation lists,” Greenfield Clark said on the phone from London. “These people’s lives are in danger.”
FFF activists have been trying to get the names and details of Afghan campaigners and their families on to evacuation lists with officials coordinating flights and aid agencies.
But eight days after the first calls for help were made, there had been no response, said those working on the rescue.
“Countries around the world are now indicating a withdrawal of state forces from Afghanistan over the coming days, leaving many FFF activists in grave danger,” Fridays for Future said in a statement, calling for a coordinated humanitarian effort as time runs out.
“Me and the other activists feel as though we are being abandoned, even by the organisations we have worked closely with over the years,” an unnamed 24-year-old climate campaigner based in Kabul was quoted as saying in FFF’s statement.
“We feel that no one can know what we are going through, and that the rest of the world will just continue on as normal and we will be completely forgotten about after [August] 31st. No one has the will to help us,” the activist added.
Updated
The Australian photojournalist Andrew Quilty has been working in the Afghan capital as troops from the US, UK and Australia withdraw. A 12-day period culminating in two suicide bombings, which tore through crowds trying to enter Hamid Karzai international airport, is seen in pictures.
Updated
This is from Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general:
The flags of all 30 Allies are flying at half-mast at #NATO Headquarters following the appalling terrorist attack outside #Kabul airport. We mourn all the victims. We honour the U.S. personnel who lost their lives getting others to safety – they will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/2jMPrWg5Ta
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) August 27, 2021
Updated
Anxious crowds of Afghans still hoping to join the western evacuation airlift from Kabul have crowded airport gates less than a day after scores were killed in a devastating Islamic State double bombing.
As flights from Afghanistan resumed with fresh urgency on Friday, amid fears that the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) affiliate could attack again, more countries announced they had completed their evacuations with only days to go before the deadline for withdrawal by US-led troops.
The final flight of evacuees from Afghanistan arrived in the Netherlands on Friday carrying 87 Dutch citizens, the defence ministry said.
Dutch military planes have taken more than 2,500 people out of Afghanistan since 18 August. The Netherlands no longer has a diplomatic presence in the country.
The government said it was examining ways to assist hundreds of Dutch citizens of Afghan origin and Afghans eligible for asylum in the Netherlands who were unable to be evacuated.
Assistance will initially be provided from neighbouring countries, the government said in a letter to parliament on Thursday.
A small number of Dutch troops and a C-130 aircraft will remain near Afghanistan until 31 August, the government said.
Updated
UN refugee agency says half a million people could flee Afghanistan
Up to half a million Afghans could flee the crisis in their homeland, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday, appealing to all neighbouring countries to keep their borders open for those seeking safety.
Kelly Clements, the deputy UN high commissioner for refugees, told a Geneva news briefing:
In terms of numbers we are preparing for around 500,000 new refugees in the region. This is a worst case scenario.
While we have not seen large outflows of Afghans at this point, the situation inside Afghanistan has evolved more rapidly than anyone expected.
Updated
A really revealing piece here from an anonymous British army veteran who served in Afghanistan. From relying on outsourced contractors to failing to tackle corruption, the west’s military presence was not fit for purpose, they write.
Moscow has strongly condemned the bombings in Kabul and remains seriously concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said today.
Peskov told a conference call with reporters:
Unfortunately, pessimistic forecasts are being confirmed that terrorist groups and organisations that have settled there, the Islamic State first and foremost, and its derivatives, would take advantage of the chaos that has arisen in Afghanistan.
It “adds to the tensions in Afghanistan” and remains the cause of the Kremlin’s “serious concern”, Peskov said.
Updated
My colleagues on the data team, Ashley Kirk, Cath Levett and Pablo Gutiérrez, have put together this analysis of flight tracker data showing how many flights have been going in and out of Afghanistan, which shows that flights stopped as the Taliban seized control, but numbers are back up and the vast majority of aircraft are now military.
Updated
For those catching up on the day’s events so far, here’s a video of the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace’s comments that the UK’s evacuations from Afghanistan will end within hours, and that the main British processing centre for eligible Afghans had been closed.
In the UK, the Liberal Democrats are calling for an immediate inquiry into the withdrawal and evacuation from Afghanistan.
The party’s leader, Sir Ed Davey MP, said “serious questions” needed to be asked to determine who in the government “is to blame for what has turned into an unmitigated disaster”, PA reports.
The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said on Friday morning that the evacuation had entered its final hours, as the 31 August deadline set by the US approached.
Western forces and Afghans were attacked by terrorists at the airport on Thursday.
Officials said at least 13 US troops and 60 Afghan nationals were killed and more than 150 people were injured in a “complex attack”.
Both the US and UK have pledged to finish the evacuation mission.
Davey said:
As the last UK flight leaves Kabul, it’s alarmingly clear that our withdrawal from Afghanistan will go down in history as one of the worst UK foreign policy disasters.
With thousands of Afghans who supported us now trapped under the brutal Taliban regime, serious questions need to be answered about why things turned out the way they did and what could’ve been done differently.
Why did we wait so long to start evacuating interpreters?
Why did the foreign secretary go on holiday as the Taliban advance began?
And how did UK intelligence get the situation so badly wrong?
We need a short inquiry now to answer these questions and determine the facts.
Only then can ministers be held accountable for their fateful decisions which have resulted in thousands being left fearing for their lives.
We also must hear from the prime minister about how the UK government plans to assist those stranded in Afghanistan going forward.
In a letter to Boris Johnson, the Lib Dem leader called on the prime minister “immediately to initiate a short inquiry into our withdrawal from Afghanistan”, which he said should cover the time from the US president announcing the withdrawal timetable in April to the evacuation effort in Kabul.
Davey said:
It is absolutely right that ministers, including yourself, should give written and oral evidence to such an inquiry.
We must establish the facts and determine who in government is to blame for what has turned into an unmitigated disaster.
He also called for greater clarity on how many people have been left behind in Afghanistan, and urged the prime minister to “initiate a judge-led public inquiry into our involvement in Afghanistan, on a longer basis”.
The government has yet to comment.
Updated
Italy’s evacuation mission in Afghanistan is set to end on Friday, after the bomb attack by Islamic State on Kabul airport.
The last Italian 3-130 transport plane, carrying some 50 Afghans, is set to depart from the airport in Kabul this afternoon and will arrive in Rome on Saturday morning, the news agency Ansa has reported.
On Friday, early in the morning, a plane carrying other 106 Afghan refugees who helped Italy’s mission in the country landed in Rome, authorities said.
A total of almost 5,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul by the Italian military after the fall of Kabul.
On Tuesday, the defence minister Lorenzo Guerini is expected to brief the parliamentary intelligence oversight body on Afghanistan and address what he has described as an “extremely serious situation’’ and the ‘’potential consequences for our national security”.
On Thursday, Italy’s prime minister, Mario Draghi, condemned the “cowardly attack against harmless people seeking freedom” and thanked all the Italians “who are working so hard to save Afghan citizens”.
During the G20 Conference on Women’s Empowerment at Santa Margherita Ligure near Genoa on Thursday, Draghi said: “G20 must do all it can to help Afghan women maintain their rights and freedoms even under the Taliban,” Ansa reported.
“We must not deceive ourselves, Afghan girls and women are set to lose their freedom and dignity, to return to the sad condition in which they found themselves 20 years ago,” Draghi added.
Updated
A plane carrying 121 Afghans has landed in Albania, which has agreed to temporarily take in some 4,000 evacuees.
Tirana’s foreign minister Olta Xhacka described those on board as “pedagogues, artists, intellectuals, activists of civil society, human rights organisation and those [representing] women”. Eleven children were also among them.
The group arrived on an Egyptian Almasria Universals airlines plane, according to a government statement, with the aircraft landing in the small hours at Tirana international airport. AP quoted a government source as saying the flight had been organised by a US NGO, and that it had stopped over in Tbilisi, Georgia, before continuing to the Albanian capital.
It remains unclear whether the evacuees were the first to be flown out of the country after the dual suicide bombings in Kabul, now blamed for the deaths of 72 civilians and 13 American soldiers. “It was the fear from such attacks which pushed us to do our utmost so that these citizens could come soonest to Albania where they are away from danger and fear for their lives,” said Xhacka who was at the airport along with Yuri Kim, the US ambassador to Albania, to greet them.
The group were taken to the western port city of Durres, where they would be put up in hotels, the foreign ministry said.
The move – embraced by the prime minister, Edi Rama, the son of a sculptor and a painter himself – will see the Afghans being temporarily hosted in Albania for at least a year before they are finally settled in the United States. The Balkan nation has strong ties with Washington.
“As they have always done, the people of Albania are once again providing hospitality and protection to those in greatest need,” the US ambassador tweeted.
NGOs in neighbouring Greece will also be flying into Albania to help provide expertise on the ground.
Updated
Around 12,500 people were evacuated from Afghanistan by US forces on Thursday, raising the total evacuees since the Taliban took power on 14 August to about 105,000, the White House said on Friday.
About 5,000 of those were evacuated on Thursday evening, according to the White House tallies, Reuters reports.
Some 13,708 people have been evacuated by British forces since 13 August, including 7,975 under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme for those who worked with the UK during the war, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The MoD has announced no further evacuees will be processed as the UK prepares withdraw all forces from the country. Earlier, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said the evacuation will likely be over in a “matter of hours”.
Updated
Sweden has ended its evacuation mission in Kabul, the foreign minister Ann Linde has said.
“All in all some 1,100 people have been evacuated by the Foreign Ministry. All locally employed embassy staff and their families have been evacuated,” Linde told a news conference.
The Kremlin has said that danger remained high for everyone in Afghanistan after an attack at an airport in Kabul, and that Islamic State and other militant groups were trying to capitalise on chaos in the country.
Russia’s intelligence services are working round the clock to prevent any spillover into neighbouring regions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
Around 300 German citizens remain in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the foreign office in Berlin has said, one day after the German military ended its evacuation flights from Kabul.
Berlin has identified 10,000 Afghans in need of protection who are entitled to come to Germany, including former local staff, journalists and human rights activists, the spokesman told reporters.
The German military ended the airlift from Kabul airport late on Thursday after evacuating 5,347 people, including more than 4,100 Afghans.
Leaving papers identifying British embassy workers in Kabul 'not good enough' - Ben Wallace
It is “clearly not good enough” that documents identifying Afghan workers and job applicants were found on the ground at the British diplomatic mission in Kabul, Ben Wallace has admitted.
The defence secretary said Boris Johnson “will be asking some questions” about how the papers were left unsecure.
As we’ve reported, the Commons foreign affairs select committee is set to launch an inquiry after a journalist from the Times (paywall) found the documents containing contact details of seven Afghans while on a tour through the city’s abandoned diplomatic quarter accompanied by a Taliban patrol on Tuesday.
Amid fears of Taliban reprisals for any locals who helped western interests in the country, the documents included the name and address of a senior embassy staff member, other employees and their contact details, and the CVs and addresses of applicants for jobs as interpreters. Some applicants listed previous work for western countries.
The Times said it called the numbers listed and found that some of the staff members had already been evacuated to the UK, but that others had been left behind.
Among them were three Afghan employees and eight family members, including five children, who were caught in the crowds at Kabul airport unable to access the British-controlled section of the facility. They were, however, eventually found and rescued.
The fate of at least two job applicants whose details were abandoned at the embassy remains unknown.
Wallace told LBC radio:
We’ll find out and get to the bottom of it. The evidence looks pretty clear. Clearly it’s not good enough, simple as that. I think the prime minister will be asking some questions, I think we need to understand, quite rightly, how that happened.
The blunder was apparently made as staff hastily left the embassy when the Taliban reclaimed Kabul and ignored evacuation protocols of shredding and destroying all data that could compromise local workers.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has acknowledged the apparent error, but said staff had tried to destroy sensitive material before leaving the embassy.
“We have worked tirelessly to secure the safety of those who worked for us, including getting three families to safety,” an FCDO spokesman said. “During the drawdown of our embassy every effort was made to destroy sensitive material.”
Meanwhile, the foreign affairs select committee will carry out an inquiry into the incident, according to its chairman, Tom Tugendhat. “The evidence is already coming in,” he tweeted.
How @FCDOGovUK handled this crisis will be the subject of a coming @CommonsForeign inquiry. The evidence is already coming in.https://t.co/3edJLkIZGe
— Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) August 26, 2021
An FCDO source added that the Foreign Office is grateful to the Times for “sharing the information retrieved with us and working with us to enable us to get these three families to safety”.
Updated
The DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said he is seeking urgent clarification from the UK government about people from Northern Ireland who remain in Afghanistan, PA reports.
The UK has entered the final stages of its Kabul evacuation and no more people will be called to the airport to leave, the Ministry of Defence has said.
But Donaldson expressed concerns over British citizens who have not yet been evacuated. He also said he would be raising cases of Irish citizens from Northern Ireland who are believed still to be in the country with the Taoiseach Micheal Martin.
He told the BBC:
Whilst I understand absolutely the need to protect our armed forces and the civilian staff who are working at Kabul Airport, I am concerned that perhaps there remain British citizens who haven’t yet been transported, evacuated out of Kabul.
I am seeking clarity on that from the Foreign Office and the Home Office today. That includes some Northern Ireland citizens whose cases I have been dealing with. I hope that by now they are in the airport compound and will be transported home but those are matters that we need to clarify.
Equally there will be Afghans who supported our armed forces during the war in Afghanistan who have not made it into the airport. Some cases I am aware of, with people in hiding who have been waiting on word to go to the airport and may now be left behind.
When asked if he understood that there were still people from Northern Ireland in Afghanistan, Donaldson said:
That is correct. I just hope that a way can be found to help those people be evacuated.
Some of them work for NGOs, for charities, doing humanitarian work. I just don’t know what attitude the Taliban will take to such organisations now and therefore our thoughts are with the families here at home who are so anxious and distressed about what they are seeing on their TV screens and deeply worried about their loved ones.
I did send a message to the prime minister last night saying that I hope the UK government would complete the evacuation of our UK citizens, including those from Northern Ireland who remain in Kabul and I want to get clarification today whether in fact we are leaving citizens behind and what that means and will we continue our efforts to secure their evacuation from Afghanistan by whatever means that is necessary.
He is due to hold a meeting with the Taoiseach on Friday, and said he would be seeking more information about Irish citizens from Northern Ireland in Afghanistan.
I am aware of cases that fit that category and they remain in Afghanistan at this moment of time, including aid workers who work for an Irish aid agency, some of whom come from Northern Ireland.
My understanding is that they have not yet been evacuated but I am seeking clarification on that and I will be raising this with the Irish prime minister today and giving him specific details of those cases.
Medical supplies are running out in Afghanistan, where the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday it hoped to establish an air bridge into the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif with the help of Pakistani authorities within the next two or three days.
“Right now because of security concerns and several other operational considerations, Kabul airport is not going to be an option for the next week at least,” Rick Brennan, WHO’s regional emergency director, speaking from Cairo, told a Geneva briefing.
Insurance rates for flying into Afghanistan have “skyrocketed”, he said, speaking a day after bombs at Kabul airport killed dozens of people. “Once we can address that we can hopefully be airborne in the next 48-72 hours,” he added.
These are from the Telegraph’s Lucy Fisher, reporting that the UK has started pulling its remaining troops out of Afghanistan, following a temporary increase in numbers to help the evacuation effort.
NEW: More than 100 British troops have already left Kabul, I'm told.
— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) August 27, 2021
There's fewer than 900 UK military personnel left (down from 1,012 earlier this week), alongside around 60 diplomats.
Several hundred civilian evacuees who've been processed are to be airlifted in hours ahead.
UK wants to be "upfront & honest" that "vast majority" of civilians seeking evacuation who aren't yet processed won't be airlifted now, says UK defence source
— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) August 27, 2021
Source stressed: "But if people do turn up, we will do everything we can to get them on a flight if they are eligible"
Defence Sec Ben Wallace has expressed "deep regret" this morning that people will be left behind.
— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) August 27, 2021
"We will continue to honour our debt to all those who have not yet been able to leave Afghanistan. We will do all that we can to ensure they reach safety."
A former head of the British army has called the US sharing of intelligence with the Taliban about people trying to flee Afghanistan a “dangerous game”.
The comment follows reports that the United States is sharing biometric information with the Taliban in a bid to rescue the remaining people outside the airfield as they withdraw from Afghanistan ahead of the 31 August deadline.
General Lord Richard Dannatt said:
I think it is a dangerous game. It’s a matter where expediency comes in. I think it’s a case of ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’.
We are in many dimensions of least-worst situations. We do worry that information has been passed about those who we were trying to get out, who we failed to get out, that the Taliban do know who they are and this places them under great threat.
Here is my colleague Peter Walker’s story on Ben Wallace’s admission that the UK has stopped taking people into Kabul airport to remove them from Afghanistan and its evacuation operation will end in “a matter of hours”.
Accepting that there would be Afghan translators or others who worked with UK forces who would not get out, the defence secretary said these people would be advised to seek access to third countries or offered advice on “how they can look after themselves” under Taliban rule.
Turkey has not made a final decision on a Taliban request for support to run the Kabul airport after foreign forces withdraw over security concerns and uncertainty there, the president Tayyip Erdogan has said, adding talks were still under way.
Officials told Reuters this week that the Taliban had asked Turkey for technical help to run the airport but demanded that Ankara’s military pull out by a 31 August deadline. The military began evacuations on Wednesday.
Erdogan told a news conference before departing for a visit to Bosnia:
The Taliban have made a request regarding the operation of the Kabul airport. They say, ‘We’ll ensure security and you can operate it.’ But we have not made a decision yet because there is always a possibility of death and such things there.
Updated
China has said it strongly condemns the Kabul airport attacks and hopes all parties will take effective measures to ensure a smooth transition, after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 85 people.
China had not received reports of any Chinese nationals being hurt, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing.
Updated
Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary has also given more details on how the Kabul bombings are believed to have been carried out.
He said it is believed to have been one suicide bomber and another smaller explosion detonated in the middle of the crowd near the canal near the Baron’s hotel. He told the Today programme:
We think it was a suicide vest and a smaller device. The individual got to the perimeter we had pushed out the day before in response to that threat.
It was about 300 metres, we think, from the Baron’s hotel, and walked straight into the middle of those families waiting.
Discussing when the terrorist warning was issued, Wallace told Sky News:
The night before, the British Army and others had pushed away from the Baron’s hotel, a standoff area about 300 metres away from the Baron’s hotel, and that is in fact where the bomb detonated, we think, himself, at that standoff.
In recognition of the amazing work that our armed forces did, if they hadn’t pushed that perimeter further out I think we could’ve been in a worse place.
He added:
About 60 to 80 Afghans also tragically lost their lives and they would’ve included families waiting in the canal, or by the canal, for processing.
Updated
The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said the threat of attacks by ISKP, the affiliate of Islamic State in Afghanistan, around Kabul airport would increase as foreign forces departed.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
I am concerned. Isis have an intent, they have the capability, should they wish to do so, to deploy more of these types of attacks. I’m absolutely concerned that, until we’ve gone, there’s an absolute threat to our forces, and even after we’ve gone there’s a threat to the Afghan people from Isis.
Updated
The UK defence secretary Ben Wallace said it is estimated that up to 1,100 Afghans who could be eligible for evacuation will be left behind by the UK as troops prepare to leave Kabul.
He told LBC radio:
We think down to approximately 100-150 British nationals left in the estimated pot, some of those are willingly staying.
Wallace then gave figures for those who could be helped under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap) scheme.
It was actually double the number of people we thought we’d get out and we’re now way above the original, even the estimates, of the total Arap, which is nearly hitting 10,000, it will go over 10,000 we think today, from April.
We think there will be circa between 800 and 1,100 Arap that didn’t make it.
Updated
Spain has concluded its evacuation of personnel from Afghanistan and the last evacuees are expected to land at the Torrejon military airbase near Madrid later on Friday, the government said.
Two military planes carrying the last 81 Spaniards out of Kabul arrived in Dubai early on Friday morning, the government said in a statement. The planes were also carrying four Portuguese soldiers and 83 Afghans who had worked with Nato countries.
“These two flights conclude the evacuation of Spanish personnel and Afghan allies and their families,” the statement read.
Over the course of its rescue mission Spain evacuated 1,898 Afghans who had worked with western countries the United Nations or the European Union.
Updated
The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, insisted the Kabul airport terror attack “didn’t hasten our departure” and the main UK evacuee processing site was closed “almost exactly on schedule”.
He told Sky News:
The threat is obviously going to grow the closer we get to leaving. The narrative is always going to be certain groups, such as IS, will want to stake a claim that they have driven out the US or the UK.
We closed the Baron’s hotel almost exactly on schedule. The explosion was horrendous, but it didn’t hasten our departure.
Nearly 14,000 British nationals and Afghans were rescued in the mission since the middle of August, Wallace said.
Updated
UK has entered final 'hours' of evacuation, processing has ended
The UK has entered the final stages of its Afghanistan evacuation operation and no more people will be called forward to the airport to leave, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The effort would now focus on evacuating British nationals and others who have already been cleared to leave and are already at the airport, the ministry said.
“It is with deep regret that not everyone has been able to be evacuated during this process,” the defence secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement.
The sad fact is not every single one will get out.
He told Sky News the UK evacuation mission in Kabul is into its final “hours” after closing the main processing centre in Baron Hotel near the airport.
We at 4.30 this morning, UK-time, closed the Baron’s hotel, shut the processing centre and the gates were closed at Abbey Gate.
We will process the people that we’ve brought with us, the 1,000 people approximately in the airfield now and we will seek a way to continue to find a few people in the crowds where we can, but overall the main processing is now closed and we have a matter of hours.
Wallace said Thursday’s attack at the airport, which killed 85 people including 13 US soldiers, had not sped up Britain’s timetable for ending the evacuation operation.
He said the threat of further attacks would grow as the operation neared its conclusion.
So far, the UK has evacuated more than 13,700 British nationals and Afghans, representing the second biggest airlift by the country’s air force after the Berlin airlift in 1949, the ministry said.
Updated
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. My colleague Lucy Campbell will take you through the rest of the day’s developments as they happen.
If you’re in the UK, here is what you can do to help Afghans who are arriving:
Hundreds of Britons have offered to host Afghan refugees in their homes since the UK government started evacuation flights after the fall of Kabul.
In August, 998 people have signed up to be hosts with Rooms for Refugees, a Glasgow-based community housing network which has 10,000 hosts on its books across the UK. Another 824 people have offered up their spare rooms to Afghans via another charity, Refugees at Home, in the last two weeks.
Others are expected to come forward to offer their homes on Airbnb after the rental company announced it would help house up to 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide. Some people have contacted their local authority to offer to host, despite councils saying they do not yet know how many families will be heading their way.
The UK government has said it will “work with stakeholders, including devolved administrations and local councils, to ensure that Afghans who will be rebuilding their lives in the UK have the support they need”:
Pakistani authorities are asking hotels in the capital, Islamabad, to stop taking reservations in order to make room for foreigners who are passing through after being evacuated from Afghanistan, AP reports.
The overnight request asked hoteliers to halt new reservations for 21 days, giving priority to foreign guests with flights transiting via Islamabad. No current guests were to be affected.
The Guardian has spoken to Ali* who was approved for a resettlement visa in New Zealand after fears of reprisal from the Taliban for assisting allied forces, about how people in Kabul are feeling at the moment.
Ali is still in Kabul. He says:
People are terrified. Fears are growing. People are selling everything in order to get out of the country by any means – as soon as they can via any means.
They are hopeless and they all don’t see any future here. People believe that civil civil war is likely to take place and are worried of a new wave of killing by ISIS.
You can see fair and despair in everyone’s eye.
If you go to internet Cafe It’s flooded with [people registering for] India and Pakistan visas.
There is no security, schools are not running and whole government system is stuck.
Employees are not returning their jobs in fear of reprisal and people who have worked with foreign nationals like me [are] counting [the] moments.
You can see chaos in every parts of the city. It’s not crowded as it was used to be. You can’t see women walking on street. You can’t see men wearing jeans. People are hardly breathing here.”
On Friday morning, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced New Zealand was ending further flights into Kabul. Speaking at a press conference alongside the defence force, Ardern said the window for evacuating people “has now closed” with the attack.
Ardern did not know how many visa holders from Afghanistan were in the country, nor how many of those registered on SafeTravel managed to get out.
“But I can say, we know with absolute certainty, we did not get everyone out,” she said.
*Full name has been omitted to protect his safety.
Updated
Summary
If you’re just joining us, here is what we know so far about the deadly explosions at Kabul airport on Thursday afternoon.
- At least 72 civilians and 13 US service members were killed on Thursday when two suicide bombers and a gunman struck one of the main entrances to Kabul’s international airport, just hours after western intelligence agencies warned of an imminent threat to the ongoing, urgent evacuation operation. Children were among those who died.
- Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. Amaq news agency said on its Telegram channel that an IS member called Abdul Rahman al-Logari carried out “the martyrdom operation near Kabul Airport”.
- Foreign forces are reportedly aiming to evacuate citizens, embassy employees by 30 August. An unnamed NATO diplomat has told Reuters that all foreign forces are now aiming to evacuate their citizens and embassy employees from the country by Monday, 30 August – a day before the US deadline. The diplomat added that Taliban forces will tighten security and add more forces to manage the crowds at the airports gates.
- The attack marks deadliest day for US troops in more than a decade. Thursday’s attacks marked the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan since 6 August 2011, and the first military deaths since February 2020.
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Joe Biden vowed revenge when he spoke briefly at the White House on Thursday afternoon. “We will not forget,” he said, as he vowed to “hunt down” the people behind the attacks. He held firm on the 31 August deadline and said that the US would get any Americans left in Afghanistan out of the country. The Islamic State leaders who ordered the attacks would be found “without large military operations”, he said.
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American forces in Kabul are bracing for more Islamic State attacks while winding up their evacuation mission, US officials say. Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, head of the US military’s Central Command, told a news briefing, “We believe it is their desire to continue these attacks and we expect those attacks to continue – and we’re doing everything we can to be prepared.”
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US secretary of state Antony Blinken confirmed 100,000 people have now been evacuated from Kabul. In a statement, he called the bombings “a devastating reminder of the dangerous conditions in which our service members and diplomats are operating as we conclude the United States’ 20-year military mission in Afghanistan”.
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General Frank McKenzie also said the US is prepared to take action against those responsible for the Kabul attack. Mckenzie said that cooperation with the Taliban had probably thwarted earlier attacks. Responding to the attacks, McKenzie insisted the evacuation operation would go on.
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US flags are being flown at half-staff at Capitol. House speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered the flags at the US Capitol in Washington to be flown at half-staff “in honour of the US service members and others” killed in the attack.
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A blast heard in Kabul after the terror attacks was a controlled explosion by US military who were destroying ammunition, according to a Taliban spokesperson, via Reuters.
- UK prime minister Boris Johnson said of the UK’s ongoing evacuation effort, “we’re going to keep going until the last moment”, despite the bombings.
Updated
Here is where more countries stand in terms of their evacuations:
Canada: Canadian forces in Kabul ended evacuation efforts for their citizens and Afghans on Thursday, ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline, acting chief of the defence staff General Wayne Eyre said. He said Canada had evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of around 3,700 Canadian and Afghan citizens.
Turkey: Turkey has evacuated at least 1,400 people from Afghanistan, including around 1,000 Turkish citizens, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier this week. Turkey also began to evacuate its troops in Afghanistan, with the first flight due to arrive in Ankara on Thursday.
Poland: Poland has evacuated about 900 people from Afghanistan, including about 300 women and 300 children, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday. He said the final flight had been due to land in Warsaw on Thursday morning.
Civilian death toll rises to 72 – Taliban official
Citing an unnamed Taliban official, Reuters reports that the civilian death toll from the attacks has sadly risen to 72.
At least 13 US soldiers were also killed in Thursday’s blasts.
Updated
Here are where more countries are at with evacuations:
France: French Prime Minister Jean Castex says France expects to complete its evacuation flights from Kabul on Friday evening. The French foreign ministry said that, as of Wednesday evening, more than 100 French nationals and more than 2,000 Afghans had reached French soil after being evacuated from Kabul airport.
Qatar: Qatar said on Thursday it has so far helped evacuate more than 40,000 people to Doha and “evacuation efforts will continue in the coming days in consultation with international partners”.
Belgium: Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday Belgium ended its evacuation operations after US sources informed the government of an imminent suicide bomb attack around Kabul airport. A little over 1,400 people were evacuated by Belgium from Kabul, with the last flight arriving at Islamabad on Wednesday night, he said.
Updated
Reuters has compiled a list of the evacuations so far by country as the pace picks up in the wake of the attacks – and with days to go until the official 31 August deadline (though as we have just heard, western forces are reportedly aiming for 30 August).
US: Washington has so far evacuated 4,500 US citizens and their families, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
There are still about 1,500 US citizens in Afghanistan and the US government is working to either contact them or has already given them instructions on how to get to Kabul airport, Blinken said.
Britain: The UK has declined to specify when its last evacuation flight would leave, beyond saying that British troops would have to have left ahead of the last US flights out on 31 August. The Ministry of Defence said 13,146 people have been brought out of Kabul while armed forces minister James Heappey said about 400 people who needed to be evacuated were still in the country.
Germany: Angela Merkel has said Germany will continue evacuation flights as long as possible. By early on Thursday, the German military had evacuated 5,193 people on 34 flights. The ministry said on Wednesday it estimated more than 200 German citizens remained in Kabul. Some 540 Germans had already been evacuated.
Overall, Germany had said it had identified 10,000 people who needed to be evacuated, including Afghan local staff, journalists and human rights activists.
More countries to follow...
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Foreign forces aiming to evacuate citizens, embassy employees by 30 August - Reuters
An unnamed NATO diplomat has told Reuters that all foreign forces are now aiming to evacuate their citizens and embassy employees from the country by Monday, 30 August – a day before the US deadline.
The diplomat added that Taliban forces will tighten security and add more forces to manage the crowds at the airports gates, and said, “Taliban leaders should investigate the Islamic State network in Kabul, they allowed thousands of prisoners to walk out of jails in recent weeks, security is their responsibility.”
The Australian government pulled its defence forces and other officials out of Kabul shortly before the suicide attacks that killed more than 60 Afghan civilians and 13 American military personnel.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison said the Australian defence force had “successfully evacuated some 4100 people from one of the most dangerous places on earth” since the operation began early last week.
The figure included more than 3200 Australians and Afghan nationals with Australian visas, while the remainder were people airlifted on behalf of Australia’s coalition partners.
But with the government confirming Australian airlift operations will not resume, it remains unclear how many Australians and Afghans with Australian visas left behind.
The end of Australia’s evacuation operations will be devastating for Afghans with connections to Australia who had earlier reported difficulties reaching or being accepted into the airport.
Guardian Australia understands 147 former Australian embassy guards and their families – about 1,000 people - are safe.
They had been waiting near the airport for five days, but reported being unable to gain admission despite having Australian travel documents - but are understood to have gone to a safe location prior to the attacks.
Throughout the week, guards who protected Australia’s former embassy in Kabul expressed fears they were running out of time to escape, with the Taliban threatening to close the road to the airport and regularly firing over crowds massing outside:
The Albanian government said that a first group of Afghans evacuated from their country arrived early Friday, AP reports.
A government spokesman confirmed the arrival without giving more details. A civilian airplane of the Egyptian Almasria Universal Airlines was seen landing at the Tirana international airport with men and women, children and old people leaving it.
A government spokesman, speaking anonymously due to security reasons of the operation, said before the plane’s arrival that 171 Afghans were expected.
The Afghans were first taken to military tents, where they had a rapid virus test, other medical and psychological assistance, registration before being moved to hotels.
The government has said the Afghans may stay at least a year while proceeding with applications for special visas for final settlement in the US.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has said that the tiny Western Balkan country may house up to 4,000 Afghans. Albania was among the first to offer temporary shelter to the Afghans leaving their country after all western military left and the Taliban took power.
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It is currently just before 8am in Kabul on Friday morning. Here is a live view of the airport:
LIVE: A view of Kabul airport a day after twin blasts https://t.co/QoLok7oGoY
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 27, 2021
On Friday morning, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced New Zealand was ending further flights into Kabul, due to the ongoing threat of terrorist attacks. The announcement followed an attack at the airport on Thursday that killed least 60 Afghans and 13 US soldiers.
Australia has also ended its airlift. The US has said it would press on with evacuation efforts despite the attack.
Speaking at a press conference alongside the defence force, Ardern said the window for evacuating people “has now closed” with the attack.
Ardern did not know how many visa holders from Afghanistan were in the country, nor how many of those registered on SafeTravel managed to get out.
“But I can say, we know with absolute certainty, we did not get everyone out,” she said.
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Slightly more information on that Reuters line from a few minutes ago:
The evacuation of civilians from Kabul has been accelerated after overnight attacks near the airport, a Western security official stationed at the airport told Reuters on Friday.
Flights are taking off regularly, said the official, who declined to be identified.
The atrocity in Afghanistan dominates the front pages of newspapers in the UK and all over the world, with an image of two women left bloodied and bewildered by the attack chosen by many editors to illustrate the story.
The photograph taken by Wakil Khosar for Agence France-Presse is the main picture on the front of half a dozen UK papers, including the Guardian, which carries the headline “Carnage in Kabul: dozens killed in airport bombing”.
Here is a roundup of Friday morning’s front pages:
Evacuations being sped up in response to attacks – Reuters
Evacuations from Kabul are being sped up in the wake of the attacks, Reuters reports, citing and unnamed “western security official” at the airport.
British parliamentary Foreign Affairs Select Committee to conduct inquiry into documents left behind
The parliamentary Foreign Affairs Select Committee will conduct an inquiry into the British embassy in Kabul leaving documents with the contact details of Afghans working for them scattered on the ground at the embassy compound.
Chairman of the select committee, Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, said in a tweet:
“How FCDOGovUK handled this crisis will be the subject of a coming CommonsForeign inquiry. The evidence is already coming in.”
An FCDO source added the Foreign Office was grateful to The Times for “sharing the information retrieved with us and working with us to enable us to get these three families to safety”.
Thursday’s attack marked the deadliest day for US troops in the country in more than a decade.
The death toll, which currently stands at 13, is the highest since 6 August 2011, when insurgents shot down a Chinook transport on a nighttime mission in Wardak province southwest of Kabul and 30 American service members died, AFP reports.
Before the 2011 tragedy, the worst single-day toll also involved a helicopter: on June 28, 2005, three Navy SEALs were killed in a firefight after being flown in to the mountains of the eastern Kunar province.
A helicopter loaded with reinforcements that was sent to help one SEAL still alive on the ground and recover the bodies of the three was shot down, killing 16 on board.
Other major losses include a firefight between scores of Taliban fighters and US troops in Wanat in Nurestan province in July 2008, which saw nine US troops killed.
Fifteen months later, in October 2009, eight Americans died in a similar battle with hundreds of Taliban fighters in Kamdesh, also in Nurestan province.
Time for a bit of background on Biden’s stance on Afghanistan, via former US president Barak Obama.
Obama writes in A Promised Land, his memoir of the presidency, that Biden, then the vice president, was the only one out of the principal National Security Council members who had misgivings about deploying an extra 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in 2009:
He had traveled to Kabul on my behalf during the transition, and what he saw and heard on the trip [...] had convinced him that we needed to rethink our entire approach to Afghanistan. I knew Joe still felt burned by having supported the Iraqi invasion years earlier. Whatever the mix of reasons, he saw Afghanistan as a dangerous quagmire and urged me to deploy a deployment, suggesting it would be easier to put troops in once we had a clear strategy as opposed to trying to pull troops out after we’d made a mess with a bad one.”
Obama initially approved an initial 17,000 troops and 4,000 military trainers instead, before approving the full 30,000 a few months later.
New Yorker staff writer Philip Gourevitch, who has written extensively on the war on terror, Tweeted this earlier:
Biden’s response to terror attacks, that they will not change his policy and plan of evacuation, is a big shift after twenty years of war resulting from US taking Bin Laden’s then ISIS’s bait to wage unwinnable wars & to amplify 9/11 with self-inflicted wounds.
— Philip Gourevitch (@PGourevitch) August 26, 2021
This piece from February recounts Biden’s stance on Afghanistan, too – Biden’s son Beau, who later died of brain cancer, was deployed to Iraq.
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has played down the prospect that Afghan nationals holding Australian visas who remain in Afghanistan could now get out on other planes, such as flights run by allies the UK and US.
Morrison, when asked about former guards and interpreters who had assisted Australian missions but had been unable to be admitted to Kabul’s airport, said:
To be honest, the opportunities for that will be very restricted. We’re in the final days now with the United Kingdom and the United States and their priority will obviously be on their tasking, not only for those they are still bringing out, but the safe evacuation of their own forces and equipment, and that’s what they will be focused on.
We are obviously still engaged with them – I can tell you that even when that last flight left last night, we ensured that it remained on the tarmac until I was confident that everyone we thought we could get on that last plane, we did get on that last plane.
There are individuals who will be on their way to Australia as a result of even those decisions at that time. I can only imagine what it was like for our people who had been on that tarmac for all those days sitting there patiently waiting as we ensured that we could take every last person we possibly could safely at the end of that operation.”
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UK foreign office defends staff who left behind documents identifying Afghans
The Foreign Office has defended its Afghanistan embassy staff after documents identifying Afghan workers and job applicants were found left on the ground at the British diplomatic mission in Kabul, the PA news agency reports.
A journalist with The Times found the papers with contact details of seven Afghans on Tuesday on a tour through the city’s abandoned diplomatic quarter while accompanied by a Taliban patrol.
Amid fears of Taliban reprisals for any locals who helped western interests in the country, the documents included the name and address of a senior embassy staff member, other staff members and their contact details, and the CVs and addresses of applicants for jobs as interpreters. Some applicants listed previous work for western countries.
“The Foreign Office appeared to have lost these staff, and their evacuation only occurred after their details were passed on by The Times,” the newspaper reported.
The fate of at least two job applicants whose details were left on the ground at the embassy remains unknown.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has acknowledged the apparent error, but said staff had tried to destroy sensitive material before leaving the embassy.
“We have worked tirelessly to secure the safety of those who worked for us in Afghanistan and continue to do so. Crucially we have now been able to get these three families to safety,” a FCDO spokesperson said.
“The drawdown of our Embassy was done at pace as the situation in Kabul deteriorated. Every effort was made to destroy sensitive material.”
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Here are the key moments from Biden’s brief address earlier this afternoon in Washington, where the US president said the evacuation of Americans and others from Afghanistan would continue:
Here is a recap of the main developments in this story over the last few hours:
Australia's evacuation mission in Afghanistan has ended
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that the country’s evacuation mission in Afghanistan has now ended and is moving to the “post-evacuation stage” – or accepting people fleeing Afghanistan as part of the humanitarian program.
Morrison said that over the past nine days, 4,100 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan to head to Australia, including 3,200 Australian citizens or Afghan visa holders.
The country’s home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, says those who were evacuated will be processed in Dubai, and then brought to Australia, where they will be quarantined as per Covid rules.
The British Embassy in Washington is also flying its flags at half-mast (or half-staff, if you’re American), “in solidarity with our US allies and the brave Americans who paid the ultimate sacrifice while helping others to reach safety.”
The British Embassy Washington flies our flags at half-mast in solidarity with our US allies and the brave Americans who paid the ultimate sacrifice today while helping others reach safety. pic.twitter.com/6SjUZKGm61
— British Embassy Washington (@UKinUSA) August 26, 2021
An update from New Zealand now: The Guardian has spoken to an Afghan interpreter, Ali* who was approved for a resettlement visa in New Zealand after fears of reprisal from the Taliban for assisting allied forces.
He remains in Kabul, and is in contact with a group of 37 other translators, interpreters and other people who assisted New Zealand forces in Afghanistan. He says none of them have been evacuated.
Told that the New Zealand government had ended its evacuation flights, he said, “It’s shocking news. I can’t believe it at all. No. I can’t believe it.””What will happen to us? To all 37 people who have the visas and have worked directly [for New Zealand]?””My message is to not leave us behind. It’s a total betrayal.The government could seek another way.”
He, along with a number of other Afghan translators, had made a number of applications to come to New Zealand in the months leading up to Kabul’s fall. They were repeatedly turned down.
Ardern said at a press conference today she did not know how many Afghans with NZ-approved resettlement remained in Afghanistan. “We are just unfortunately not clear on the numbers ... some consolidation will be required, but I can say, we know with absolute certainty we did not get everyone out.”
*His full name has been omitted to protect his safety.
More from Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, the head of the US military’s Central Command, who said in a news briefing that American forces are expecting further attacks in the coming days.
“I think we can continue to conduct our mission, even while we are receiving attacks like this,” McKenzie said, adding that US forces will “go after” the perpetrators of Thursday’s attack.
McKenzie said there were about 1,000 US citizens estimated to be still in Afghanistan. A spokesperson for the State Department said more than two thirds of these Americans had informed it they were taking steps to leave Afghanistan.
If you’re just joining us, my name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments in the wake of the distressing attacks in Kabul late on Thursday afternoon. It is currently nearing 5am in Kabul.
As always, please send any news you think we may have missed to me on Twitter at @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.
American forces bracing for further attacks
American forces in Kabul are bracing for more Islamic State attacks while winding up their evacuation mission, US officials say.
Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, head of the US military’s Central Command, told a news briefing, “We believe it is their desire to continue these attacks and we expect those attacks to continue - and we’re doing everything we can to be prepared.”
McKenzie added that future potential attacks could include rockets being fired at the airport or car bombs attempting to get in. McKenzie said he saw nothing that would convince him that Taliban forces had let the attack take place.
Updated
Middle East leaders respond to 'heinous' attack
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry rejected the attacks as “incompatible with all religious principles and moral and human values”.
The ministry said it stood “with the Afghan people” and offered “condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and the Afghan people”.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry deplored “this heinous attack in the strongest terms, offer our condolences to the relatives of those who lost their lives and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.”
Egypt’s foreign ministry decried the “gruesome terrorism”, while Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned “a heinous terrorist act that contradicts all moral and humanitarian values and principles”.
From PBS News Hour journalist Jane Ferguson:
This is what the #USMarines were facing in their day-to-day work at the exact spot where the attacks took place (filmed a few days ago). No one had been searched - it wasn’t possible. Tough conditions and incredibly vulnerable - open to attack. #KabulAiport #afghanistan pic.twitter.com/NvZpAuGQ4n
— Jane Ferguson (@JaneFerguson5) August 26, 2021
Trudeau: 'our hearts break for the people of Afghanistan'
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to work with partners to resettle refugees in his country.
“Our hearts break for the people of Afghanistan and the loved ones of the victims, including the brave women and men of our allies,” he said.
US secretary of state: 100,000 people evacuated
US secretary of state Anthony Blinken has released a statement on the bombings, calling them “a devastating reminder of the dangerous conditions in which our servicemembers and diplomats are operating as we conclude the United States’ 20-year military mission in Afghanistan.”
The statement says that 100,000 people have now been evacuated from Kabul.
.@SecBlinken statement on the terrorist attacks in Kabul pic.twitter.com/lNQyx38lLk
— Jennifer Hansler (@jmhansler) August 26, 2021
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What we know so far – IS claims responsibility for attack
In case you’re just joining us, here is what we know so far about Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan – Islamic State Khorasan Province – claiming responsibility for the attack outside the Kabul airport.
Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans people trying to get into Kabul’s airport on Thursday, killing at least 60 Afghans and 12 US troops, Afghan and US officials said.
The IS branch, known as The Islamic State-Khorasan Province after a name for the region from antiquity, said in its claim of responsibility that it targeted American troops and their Afghan allies.
The Associated Press reports that the statement carried a photo of what the militant group said was the bomber who carried out the attack. The image shows the alleged attacker standing with the explosive belt in front of the black IS flag with a black cloth covering his face, only his eyes showing.
An IS official Amaq news agency said on its Telegram channel that the member was named Abdul Rahman al-Logari. The name suggests the the killer was Afghan.IS also said the bomber managed to get past Taliban security checkpoints to come within 5 meters (yards) of a gathering of US soldiers, translators and collaborators before detonating his explosives. It said Taliban were also among the casualties.
The statement also said the bomber got around US security measures and that the camp that was targeted was where US forces were gathering paperwork for those who’ve worked with the military, AP reports.It is important to note that these claims have not been verified independently – they are Islamic State’s version of what occurred.
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European leaders condemn ‘despicable’ attack
French President Emmanuel Macron has offered “his condolences to the families of the American and Afghan victims” and saluted “the heroism of those who are on the ground to carry out the evacuation operations” in response to the attacks.
He also pledged to see the evacuations “through to the end”.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “We are working to evacuate as many people as possible.
“The international community stands with the Afghan people,” he said.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi condemned “this vile and horrible attack against defenceless people seeking liberty”, while Poland’s President Andrzej Duda condemned the “act of cowardice”.
“Poland stands with our US and Afghani friends,” he said.
Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek condemned the “despicable terrorist attack”, and said: “I mourn the death of Afghans and members of the US military.”
Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide tweeted: “Innocent civilians trying to leave the country have become victims of this terrible act of cruelty.”
Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde paid tribute to the US service members: “We are grateful for all your efforts in making this historic evacuation operation possible.”
Updated
Summary
My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments in the wake of the distressing attacks in Kabul late on Thursday afternoon. It is currently nearing 4am in Kabul.
As always, please send any news you think we may have missed to me on Twitter at @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.
We’ll be bringing you the news live as it happens. Here are the key developments from the last while:
- Joe Biden spoke briefly at the White House on Thursday afternoon in Washington. “We will not forget,” he said, as he vowed to “hunt down” the people behind the attacks. He vowed that the US would get any Americans left in Afghanistan out of the country and said that the IS members who ordered the attacks would be found without using “large military force”.
- US flags being flown at half-staff at Capitol. House speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered the flags at the US Capitol in Washington to be flown at half-staff “in honour of the US service members and others” killed in the attack.
- At least 60 civilians and 13 US service members were killed on Thursday night when two suicide bombers and a gunman struck one of the main entrances to Kabul’s international airport just hours after western intelligence agencies warned of an imminent threat to the ongoing, urgent evacuation operation.
- Attack marks deadliest day for US troops in more than a decade. Thursday’s attacks marked the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan since 6 August 2011, and the first military deaths since February 2020.
- The US military’s central commander, General Kenneth F McKenzie, said the US is prepared to take action against those responsible for the Kabul attack. Mckenzie said that cooperation with the Taliban had probably thwarted earlier attacks. Responding to the attacks, the McKenzie insisted the evacuation operation would go on.
- Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. An IS official Amaq news agency said on its Telegram channel that a member called Abdul Rahman al-Logari carried out “the martyrdom operation near Kabul Airport”. The name suggests the the killer was Afghan.
- UK Prime minister Boris Johnson said of the UK’s ongoing evacuation effort, “we’re going to keep going until the last moment” despite the deadly attack.
- A blast heard in Kabul after the terror attacks was a controlled explosion by US military who were destroying ammunition, according to a Taliban spokesperson, via Reuters.
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