ISIS claims responsibility as dozens die in Kabul airport blasts

Two Islamic State suicide bombers attacked crowds of people gathered outside Kabul airport Thursday hoping to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, killing dozens including 12 US troops, the Pentagon said.

The country’s new Taliban rulers said the blasts killed between 13 and 20 people. A health official in the previous government said the toll could rise to 60.

The blasts came as the August 31 deadline looms for the United States to withdraw its troops, and for it and other Western countries to end a massive airlift that has already evacuated nearly 100,000 people.

The airport is the only part of the country under foreign control following the Taliban’s return to power on August 15, and huge crowds have massed in the hope of being evacuated.