13 US Service Members Killed: Suicide Bomb Explosion Near Kabul Airport, Two Explosions Reported in Kabul, Afghanistan

Pentagon briefing on explosions near Afghanistan’s Kabul airport on Thursday, August 26, 2021. YouTube Tips ⓘ

Afghan news station 1TV News reports that a bomb exploded, and US official Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby confirmed an explosion near the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport on Thursday, August 26, 2021. An explosion was also reported near the Baron Hotel, which is just south of the runway at the Kabul airport (Hamid Karzai International Airport).

UPDATE: Initially it was reported that 4 US Marines were killed, and 3 were wounded, according to the U.S. ambassador in Kabul report to staff. No notification on Twitter as of 12:15 p.m. CDT. The Pentagon confirmed “a number of U.S. service members were killed” at today’s “complex attack at Kabul airport.” Thursday at about 2:00 p.m. CDT the Pentagon confirmed reported 12 U.S. Marines and one Navy medic were killed Thursday near Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

Sky News reported initially that 13 people are dead, including children, and that a suicide bombing is involved in the initial assessment.

A video from the Aśvaka News Agency showed a pile of bloody bodies on the ground at 9:40 a.m. CDT.

Some people were killed or wounded while standing in knee-deep wastewater or sewage in a wastewater canal where they were thrown dead or wounded into sewage water in the canal. The complex attack involved two suicide bombers˜

Three US Marines are reported injured along the barbed wire fence near Kabul Airport as they helped the State Department check credentials of evacuees. US casualty reports are expected to increase.

The Abbey Gate explosion was reported first, followed by the Barron Hotel explosion. Both locations are two of the main gates to the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

US troops evacuated 169 people from the Baron Hotel on Thursday, August 19, 2021. Three Army CH-47 Chinooks airlifted the Americans from a landing zone at the Baron hotel, according to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby. The 169 people were transported over an insecure crowed at the airport brought into the airport property for processing. He could not confirm whether they had since been flown out of Afghanistan.

A Security Alert telling people to leave the airport gates was activated on August 25, 2021 and stated specifically, “Due to threats outside the Kabul airport, US citizens should avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates unless you receive instructions to do so. Those at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately.”

Pentagon briefing on explosions near Afghanistan’s Kabul airport on Thursday, August 26, 2021. YouTube Tips ⓘ

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki boasted successful evacuation statistics at the White House Press Briefing Wednesday afternoon, August 26, 2021. Psaki referred to an earlier administration report that 19,000 people were evacuated — and that the majority of people were Afghans. Also on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said that the risk of a terrorist attack at the Kabul airport was growing each day U.S. forces are on the ground.

White House Holds Press Briefing: August 25, 2021 | NBC News YouTube Tips ⓘ

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The US, UK, and Australia warned of the imminent risk of a terrorist attack at Kabul airport and have told their nationals to ‘stay away’ from the site. Since Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, thousands are still amassing there, desperate to get out before the looming evacuation deadline passes. YouTube Tips ⓘ