Twin suicide attacks outside Kabul airport leave many dead

Kabul: Two suicide bombers and gunmen targeted crowds massing near the Kabul airport on Thursday, in the waning days of a massive airlift that has drawn thousands of people seeking to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

At least 13 persons were killed and 15 wounded, Russian officials said. Wion Correspondent reporting from Kabul said the suicide explosions left 15 dead and 60 injured while Times Now put the casualty figure at 15. A US official said the complex attack was "definitely believed" to have been carried out by the Islamic State group, whose affiliate in Afghanistan grew out of disaffected Taliban members who hold an even more extreme view of Islam. At least 13 persons died and 15 were wounded, according to Russia's Foreign Ministry, which gave the first official casualty count. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby also confirmed the blasts, sayingin one was near an airport entrance and another was a short distance away by a hotel. The US official said members of the US military were among the wounded.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations. Even as the area was hit, the official said evacuation flights continued to take off from Kabul airport, which Western governments earlier warned was a target. One explosion went off in a crowd of people waiting to enter the airport, according to Adam Khan, an Afghan waiting nearby. He said several people appeared to have been killed or wounded, including some who lost body parts.

Several countries urged people to avoid the airport earlier in the day, with one saying there was a threat of a suicide bombing. But just days — or even hours for some nations — before the evacuation effort ends, a few appeared to heed the call.