Explosions outside Kabul airport leave several dead and injured. The background is still largely unclear.
According to the US government, several American soldiers were killed in the attack outside Kabul airport. The spokesman for the US Department of Defense, John Kirby, announced on Thursday without giving an exact number. Several US soldiers were injured, and several Afghans were also victims of the attack. Initially, the Pentagon had confirmed that the explosion at one of the airport gates had caused “an unknown number of victims” and that Americans had also been harmed.
The United Nations speaks of several dead and injured. UN Secretary General António Guterres “condemns this terrorist attack, in which a number of civilians were killed and injured, and expresses his deep condolences to the families of those killed,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. So far there is no information about the background to the “heinous” act.
According to the non-governmental organization Emergency, at least six people have been killed. More than 60 others were said to have been injured. The non-governmental organization runs a local hospital and reported that six people were admitted to their clinic dead.
According to the militant Islamist Taliban, at least 13 people were killed in the attack at Kabul airport. At least 52 others were injured, said the spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Doha.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense initially reported a second explosion outside the airport, and the Pentagon later confirmed “at least one more” explosion at the Baron Hotel in the immediate vicinity of Abbey Gate. Accordingly, it was a “complex attack”.
Chancellor Merkel assumes one or more suicide attacks
In an initial statement, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) assumed that there had been “one or more suicide attacks” in the Afghan capital. “Terrorists targeted people who were waiting in front of the airport gates,” Merkel said in Berlin. Merkel condemned the acts of violence that this was “an absolutely vile attack in a very, very tense situation.”
The US broadcaster CNN reported, citing several sources, that the explosion at Abbey Gate was a suicide attack. According to the Reuters news agency, which cites an American official, it is said to be a suicide attack.
US officials assumed that the ISIS offshoot in Afghanistan could be behind the attacks, reported CNN – a confirmation of the suspicion could take several hours, however, it is said.
US President Joe Biden was informed of the events in front of the airport in Kabul, reported CNN. “The president met with his national security team that morning,” said the White House. Foreign Minister Antony Blinken was also present at the meeting. “He will continue to receive updates on the evolving situation throughout the day.”
No German soldiers injured
As far as we know, no German soldiers were injured in the explosion. “According to previous knowledge, there was an explosion in the outside area of Kabul Airport this afternoon at around 3:20 pm CEST,” said the operational command. Bundeswehr forces are not affected. More detailed information is not yet available.
Western states warned of the risk of an attack
In German security circles there was talk of an attack, as the German press agency reported. It is therefore initially unclear whether German citizens are affected. There are injured. It is still unclear whether and, if so, how many deaths there were. There is chaos. The attack was carried out from outside the airport, not by one or more people who had smuggled themselves into the airport, it said.
Western states had recently warned of attacks at the airport, where a large-scale evacuation operation is currently underway. The Bundeswehr spoke of several suicide bombers in the city. Western nationals have been warned not to go to the airport.
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