Terror in heart of Kabul, explosions rock airport

A group of suicide attackers and gunmen targeted crowds outside the Kabul airport amid a massive and chaotic evacuation effort from Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 64 people including four US troops, according to The Wall Street Journal, and raising serious questions about the security of flights by countries such as the US and India.

The attackers, including two suicide bombers, launched their assault at a gate where crowds of Afghans had gathered to get into the airport, the only way out of the country since it was taken over by the Taliban on August 15.

“We can confirm that a number of US service members were killed in today’s complex attack on Kabul airport,” said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. “A number of others are being treated for wounds,” he said, calling it a “heinous attack”.