TWO explosions took place outside the airport in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on Thursday (26) and they reportedly killed dozens of American and Afghan people. The blasts created a global ripple since several nations are currently evacuating their people from Afghanistan where the Taliban have returned to power on August 15. Reuters reported that a hospital in Kabul said around 60 injured people reached there for treatment.
Afghanistan’s Tolo News reported that one of the two explosions came from within the crowd outside the airport. According to one eyewitness that spoke to the news outlet, the blast occurred from inside a crowd of Afghan people close to the Baron camp, located near the airport. The other blast happened near the airport’s Abbey Gate. There were reports that said the death toll could be around 40.
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Medical staff bring an injured man to a hospital in an ambulance after two powerful explosions outside the airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Chaotic scenes prevailed at the airport since Thursday morning when Afghan forces fired in the air to disperse crowds near the airport. An Italian military transport aircraft was taking off at the time of the firing. Reports said the firing was not aimed at the departing plane. Soon after, the explosions rocked the area.
American officials suspected the blasts to be suicide attacks and the involvement of the Islamic State militant group in them.
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The US defense department confirmed the explosions amid reports of growing threat from the IS and other terrorist organisations. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the exact number of casualties were not immediately clear and they were waiting for additional details.
“We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can,” he tweeted.
US media outlet CNN reported quoting White House sources that president Joe Biden had been briefed on the explosion.
The US embassy in Kabul said gunfire was reported at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, urging Americans to avoid travelling to the airport at the time.
“US citizens who are at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately,” the US embassy said.
Earlier in the day, countries like France and the Netherlands said they will halt evacuation operations days before the August 31 deadline for a complete withdrawal of the US-led western troops in the wake of the rising security concerns in the Afghan capital.
The UK has also warned its citizens to stay away from the airport in Kabul, urging them to leave Afghanistan by other means if possible. Speaking to Times Radio, James Heappey, the UK’s parliamentary under-secretary of state for the armed forces, called the threat situation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport “very serious” and “imminent”.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images
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