Smoke rises from a deadly explosion outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. Two suicide bombers and gunmen have targeted crowds massing near the Kabul airport, in the waning days of a massive airlift that has drawn thousands of people seeking to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)
Afghanistan
NEW YORK (77WABC) – ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings that killed at least 12 US service members and dozens of Afghans near the Kabul Airport.
U.S. officials had warned of an ISIS attack over the past week in wake of the sweeping Taliban takeover. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie of the U.S. Central Command said Thursday that the attackers were two ISIS suicide bombers.
ISIS-K, also known as ISIS-Khorasan, is an affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS), which established a caliphate in Iraq and Syria that was later destroyed by the American forces. ISIS has geographical branches in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia with its affiliate based in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border.
President Biden warned Tuesday, “Every day we’re on the ground is another day we know that ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport and attack both U.S. and allied forces and innocent civilians.”
ISIS-K is actually an adversary of the Taliban.
The Taliban issued a Twitter statement, condemning the attack. The spokesman wrote, “The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the bombing of civilians at Kabul airport, which took place in an area where US forces are responsible for security.”
