Two Explosions Outside Kabul Airport Causes Fatalities

(CNN) At least two explosions took place outside the Kabul
airport on Thursday as the United States and other countries try to
evacuate their citizens and Afghans at risk from the Taliban.

Three US officials and a source familiar with the situation said
that according to initial reports, there were some US personnel
among the casualties.

“We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the
result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US &
civilian casualties. We can also confirm at least one other
explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey
Gate. We will continue to update,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby
tweeted.

The blast happened at one of the entry gates of the Hamid Karzai
International Airport and appears to be a suicide attack, according
to three US officials.

Crowds of Afghans have been gathering at the gates trying to
gain access to the airport, which has become the only way out of
the country since the Taliban took over Kabul.

The US Embassy in Kabul said that US citizens who were at the
Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate of the airport “should leave
immediately” in the wake of the blast.

“There has been a large explosion at the airport, and there are
reports of gunfire,” the security alert said. “US citizens should
avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates at this
time,” it added.

The French Ambassador to Afghanistan, David Martinon, warned
that a second explosion at the Kabul airport remained a
possibility. “To all our Afghan friends if you are close to the
doors of the airport get away as quickly as possible and shelter
yourselves. A second explosion is possible,” he tweeted.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated by the US
military and NATO allies from the airport in the past two weeks.
These evacuations are set to start winding down in the next few
days, ahead of the August 31 deadline for the final exit from a
20-year war in Afghanistan.

One US official said there are injuries among Afghans, but there
is no information yet on any US casualties.

US officials said earlier on Thursday that concerns about
security around the airport have increased based on “a very
specific threat stream.”

The top US diplomat in Kabul, Amb. Ross Wilson, said Thursday
that he could not get into the specifics of the security threat
outside the gates of the Kabul airport cited in an embassy alert,
but noted that “it was clearly regarded as credible, as imminent,
as compelling.”

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the explosion outside
Kabul airport, a White House official said. The President was in
the situation room along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and
Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

A spokesperson for the UK government said the government was
“working urgently to establish what has happened and its impact on
the ongoing evacuation effort.”

“Our primary concern remains the safety of our personnel,
British citizens and the citizens of Afghanistan. We are in close
contact with our US and other NATO allies at an operational level
on the immediate response to this incident.”

The emergency services of the Bundeswehr, Germany’s military
operations command, were unaffected by the explosion, the German
Defense Ministry tweeted Thursday.

This is a developing story.

(CNN) At least two explosions took place outside the Kabul
airport on Thursday as the United States and other countries try to
evacuate their citizens and Afghans at risk from the Taliban.

Three US officials and a source familiar with the situation said
that according to initial reports, there were some US personnel
among the casualties.

“We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the
result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US &
civilian casualties. We can also confirm at least one other
explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey
Gate. We will continue to update,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby
tweeted.

The blast happened at one of the entry gates of the Hamid Karzai
International Airport and appears to be a suicide attack, according
to three US officials.

Crowds of Afghans have been gathering at the gates trying to
gain access to the airport, which has become the only way out of
the country since the Taliban took over Kabul.

The US Embassy in Kabul said that US citizens who were at the
Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate of the airport “should leave
immediately” in the wake of the blast.

“There has been a large explosion at the airport, and there are
reports of gunfire,” the security alert said. “US citizens should
avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates at this
time,” it added.

The French Ambassador to Afghanistan, David Martinon, warned
that a second explosion at the Kabul airport remained a
possibility. “To all our Afghan friends if you are close to the
doors of the airport get away as quickly as possible and shelter
yourselves. A second explosion is possible,” he tweeted.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated by the US
military and NATO allies from the airport in the past two weeks.
These evacuations are set to start winding down in the next few
days, ahead of the August 31 deadline for the final exit from a
20-year war in Afghanistan.

One US official said there are injuries among Afghans, but there
is no information yet on any US casualties.

US officials said earlier on Thursday that concerns about
security around the airport have increased based on “a very
specific threat stream.”

The top US diplomat in Kabul, Amb. Ross Wilson, said Thursday
that he could not get into the specifics of the security threat
outside the gates of the Kabul airport cited in an embassy alert,
but noted that “it was clearly regarded as credible, as imminent,
as compelling.”

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the explosion outside
Kabul airport, a White House official said. The President was in
the situation room along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and
Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

A spokesperson for the UK government said the government was
“working urgently to establish what has happened and its impact on
the ongoing evacuation effort.”

“Our primary concern remains the safety of our personnel,
British citizens and the citizens of Afghanistan. We are in close
contact with our US and other NATO allies at an operational level
on the immediate response to this incident.”

The emergency services of the Bundeswehr, Germany’s military
operations command, were unaffected by the explosion, the German
Defense Ministry tweeted Thursday.

This is a developing story.