Afghanistan: 12 US Service Members Killed in Kabul Airport Attack

• Twelve United States service members were killed and 15 were injured in an attack at Kabul's airport
• More than 60 people are dead and at least 140 wounded, an official with the Afghan government has confirmed
• Popular Islamist terror group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in the Arab nation

Kabul - Twelve members of the US military were killed and 15 more were injured in an attack at Kabul's airport on Thursday, August 26.

General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Central Command, confirmed the news at a briefing, CNN reports.

McKenzie said the attack included two suicide bombers followed by gunmen opening fire.

ISIS claims responsibility

The Independent UK reports that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack as members of the group shared photos on the Telegram network of the bomber who carried out the dastardly act.

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According to a statement posted by its Amaq propaganda agency in Arabic, the terror group claimed more than 150 people were killed or wounded in the bombing.

ABC news reports that Pentagon press secretary John Kirby in an earlier statement called the situation a complex attack.

He said one explosion at the Abbey Gate outside Hamid Karzai International Airport caused a number of US and civilian casualties.

Taliban sources told NBC News that 13 people including children were killed in the attack.

Russia’s foreign ministry spokespersons also gave the same death toll.

Earlier, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the US, William J. Burns met face-to-face with a top Taliban leader in Kabul on Monday, August 23.

Officials quoted in the report said the two officials may have met due to the looming Tuesday, August 31 deadline issued to the US and its allies to leave Afghanistan by the Taliban.

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Keep your border open: US tells Pakistan as more Afghans flee after Taliban takeover

The Biden administration has been in regular contact with Taliban officials throughout the course of the evacuation process, both on the ground in Afghanistan and in Doha, Qatar.

Afghanistan–Pakistan border barrier

Meanwhile, Pakistan has been advised to allow more Afghan refugees into its domain.

A US senior State Department official gave this admonition while briefing journalists on the new US refugee admission programme for fleeing Afghans.

The US official said in a situation like the current happenings, it is important that Pakistan let its border remain open to more refugees.

Source: Legit.ng