One day after consecutive suicide bombings that have more than killed 103 people, including 13 US soldiersthe Pentagon said the attack on Kabul was carried out by a suicide bomber. Even while the evacuations are in progress, US soldiers are being forced to evacuate Afghans who are desperately on the run The Taliban government was put on high alert on Friday for further attacks.
“We don’t believe there was a second explosion in or near the Baron Hotel that it was a suicide bomber,” US Army Major General William Taylor told reporters at the Pentagon in Washington, DC .
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Former President of US President Donald Trump Joe Biden said the attacks would not have happened if he had been President of the United States.
The Indian government also mentioned that the majority of Indian nationals who wanted to return from Afghanistan have been returned to India. The ministry condemned the fatal suicide bombings outside Kabul airport on Thursday, but said it is closely monitoring the situation in the neighboring country.
Top developments
1) Pentagon says Kabul attack was carried out by suicide bomber
Fatal attack in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul Thursday was carried out by a lone suicide bomber at a gate to the airport and there was not a second Explosion in a nearby hotel, the Pentagon announced on Friday.
The attack on Kabul airport, in which 13 US soldiers and at least 79 Afghans were killed, was alleged by Islamic State militants. The Afghan branch of the Islamic State, ISIS-Khorosan, has proven to be an enemy of both the West and the Taliban.
Several explosions, including two at Hamid Karzai Airport, rocked Kabul on Thursday. (Photo: Getty)
The attack marked the first U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan since February 2020 and was the deadliest incident for American troops there in a decade.
US General Frank McKenzie, the head of the US Central Command, said on Thursday that, according to initial information, two suicide bombers had attacked the airport gate and the nearby Baron Hotel.
2) The US has issued a safe transit citizen list. The Taliban made a “kill list” out of it
A list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies that the US gave to the Taliban after the Taliban takeover to ensure their safe passage to Kabul airport turned out to be a “kill list” for the group Called report.
According to a report by Politico, US officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies so they could be admitted to the Taliban-controlled outskirts of Kabul airport.
ALSO READ: USA handed over list of Afghans for safe transit, Taliban made a “kill list” out of it: report
However, this move to provide a list of “at risk” US citizens, green card holders and Afghans has sparked indignation among lawmakers and military officials, the report said.
3) The Kabul attacks would not have happened if I were your President: Trump
A day after successive explosions struck Kabul in which over 100 people were killed, including 13 US soldiers, former US President Donald Trump said: “The attacks in Kabul would not have happened if I were your President.”
In an address to the nation, former US President Donald Trump said: “This tragedy should never have happened, it should never have happened and would not have happened if I were your President.” Follow live updates
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He added: “As a nation, America mourns the loss of our brave and brilliant American soldiers in a cruel and barbaric terrorist attack in Afghanistan.
4) Faked images of chaos outside Kabul airport
A video from the Afghan news agency Asvaka shows that the area around the east gate of the airport on the side of the Barol Hotel is deserted. The agency mentions that the videos of the chaos outside Kabul airport were fake. The report added that the Taliban have blocked the roads leading to the airport.
“The videos showing the chaos near the #Kabulairport are not true. This is the real situation on the side of the east gate of the Baron Hotel. #Taliban have blocked the roads to Kabul airport,” the tweet said Asvaka News Agency.
Today!
The videos show chaos near the #kabulairport are not true. This is the real situation on the east side of the Gate Baron Hotel. #Taliban have blocked the roads to Kabul airport.
stay with #AsvakaNews for the latest updates. pic.twitter.com/xfr0H5vScp– Avaka News Agency (sAsvakaNews) August 27, 2021
The video posted by the news agency shows a couple of Afghans sitting by the airport wall while some people, including children, walk around.
ALSO READ: Kabul airport left after explosions, images of chaos falsified: report | Regard
5) Majority children returned from Afghanistan: MEA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA) said the majority of Indian nationals who wanted to return from Afghanistan had been returned to India. The Ministry, while condemning the fatal suicide bombings outside Kabul airport on Thursday, said it is closely monitored the situation in the neighboring country.
People stranded in crisis-ridden Afghanistan will arrive at the Hindan Air Force Station in Ghaziabad on Sunday, August 22, 2021 with a special IAF return flight. (PTI photo)
Foreign Ministry (MEA) spokesman Arindam Bagchi said India’s focus is on evacuating its citizens stranded in Afghanistan, adding that the last evacuation flight only had about 40 people.
“We heard reports that Afghan nationals were having difficulty getting to the airport. Some Afghan nationals, including Afghan Sikhs, were unable to reach the airport on August 25. Several Indians, around 20, could not get to the airport, ”said Bagchi.
6) Death of 13 soldiers, worst US loss in Afghanistan since 2011
The death of 13 US soldiers in the attack on Kabul airport meant the Pentagon’s worst daily loss since 2011.
ALSO READ: 13 soldiers killed, attack on Kabul airport worst US casualties in Afghanistan since 2011
The US Department of Defense said 13 people were killed after two suicide bombers from the Afghan branch of the Islamic State Group detonated their bombs through a key gate to the airport and at a nearby hotel that housed evacuees.
The initial number was 12, which increased when another soldier died of his wounds. Ten of those killed and several wounded were US Marines, Marine Corps spokesman Major Jim Stenger said in a statement.
7) Jaish-e-Mohammed boss meets Taliban leadership and seeks “help” in Kashmir
Pakistani terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed, headed by Maulana Masood Azhar, was in Kandahar the third week of August after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan to seek their assistance in inciting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
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Masood Azhar met Taliban leaders, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the head of the political commission. Masood Azhar asked the Taliban for help with JeM operations in the Kashmir Valley.
Masood Azhar had previously expressed his delight at the Taliban’s “victory” after taking Kabul on August 15 and praised the terrorist group for bringing about the collapse of the “US-backed Afghan government”. In his letter “Manzil Ki Taraf” (towards the goal) of August 16, the JeM boss praised the “success of the mujahideen” in Afghanistan.
8th) Turkey says Taliban want to operate Kabul airport
The Taliban have asked Turkey to operate Kabul Airport, but a decision has not yet been made, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
“The Taliban have asked us to operate Kabul Airport. We have not yet made a decision on this matter,” he said at a press conference at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport before setting off on a trip to Bosnia.
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He added: “We will make a decision as soon as the administration (in Afghanistan) is clear.”
Erdogan said a more than three-hour meeting with the Taliban took place at the Turkish embassy in Kabul, without saying when the meeting took place. “If necessary, we will have the opportunity to hold such meetings again.”
The president added that the evacuation of Turkish troops from Kabul, which began on Wednesday, was underway. He condemned Thursday’s attacks.
9) Taliban urge Afghan imams to preach about the importance of obeying the rulers
A week after calling on Afghan imams to counter negative reports about the movement, the Taliban now urged Afghan preachers to focus on the importance of obedience to rulers in their sermons during Friday prayers.
ALSO READ: Taliban urge Afghan imams to preach during Friday prayers about the importance of obeying rulers
It came after the suicide bombings outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai airport on Thursday, which killed over 100 people and injured dozens.
The Taliban reportedly last week urged Afghan imams to counter negative reports about the movement and persuade people not to attempt to flee the country until the first Friday prayers since the occupation of Kabul on August 15.
10) The death toll in explosions at Kabul airport rises to 103, IS assumes responsibility
At least 103 people were killed and over 143 injured in two explosions that struck Kabul airport on Thursday. 13 US soldiers, including 12 Marines and a Navy medic, were killed and 18 other soldiers were injured in the explosions at Kabul Airport.
The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack in front of Kabul airport. The team also released a picture of a suicide bomber hitting the overcrowded gates of Kabul airport, effectively crippling the western airlift of desperate Afghans.
While two more explosions reportedly took place in central Kabul following the airport explosions, there was no official confirmation of this.
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