UK animal charity staff witnessed Kabul blasts

A former Royal Marine who runs an animal shelter in Afghanistan says he and his staff were caught up in the aftermath of the explosion near the Kabul airport. Paul “Pen” Farthing said the group was outside the airport when the blast occurred on Thursday.

London: A former Royal Marine who runs an animal shelter in Afghanistan says he and his staff were caught up in the aftermath of the explosion near the Kabul airport. Paul “Pen” Farthing said the group was outside the airport when the blast occurred on Thursday.

“We’re fine but everything is chaos here at the moment,” he told Britain’s Press Association news agency. “All of a sudden we heard gunshots and our vehicle was targeted, had our driver not turned around he would have been shot in the head by a man with an AK-47.

“We’ve been in the airport, and back out of the airport; the whole thing’s a mess,” he added. Farthing is trying to get staff of his Nowzad charity out of Afghanistan, along with the group’s rescued animals. They have been stuck outside Kabul’s airport as they try to get a flight out.

He spoke as reports emerged of two suicide bombings outside the airport that killed at least 13 people and wounded another 15. U.S. officials meanwhile have said that American personnel were wounded in the blast, without elaborating.

Earlier, in a statement to AP, Royal Marine that he, his Afghan staff and dozens of dogs and cats are stuck outside Kabul’s airport as they try to get a flight out of the country before evacuation efforts end.

Paul “Pen” Farthing appealed to the Taliban to allow the group safe passage into the airport. He tweeted to Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen that “we have been here for 10 hours after being assured that we would have safe passage. Truly would like to go home now.”

Read: US official: IS group believed to be behind Kabul attack

Farthing has been pressing for days to get staff of his Nowzad charity out of Afghanistan, along with about 200 of the group’s rescued animals.

Farthing’s supporters have clashed online with British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who refused to airlift the animals on a Royal Air Force plane, saying “I have to prioritize people at the moment over pets.”

Celebrities including comedian Ricky Gervais expressed support for Farthing, and criticism of the British government, on social media.

The U.K. defense ministry later said it would help Farthing, his group and the animals leave on a chartered jet funded by Farthing’s supporters if they could reach the airport.

Wallace criticized “the bullying, falsehoods and threatening behavior by some” towards defense personnel, saying it was “unacceptable and shameful.” On Twitter, he urged Farthing backers to “please let my civil servants and military get on with dealing with one of the most dangerous and challenging evacuations for a generation.”

Dominic Dyer, a British animal campaigner who is assisting Farthing, said the chartered plane was due to leave the U.K. later Thursday for Kabul.

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said Thursday that U.K. forces at the airport would “facilitate” the flight. He told ITV that “the difficulty is getting Pen into the airfield.”

Britain has urged people to stay away from the airport, citing “very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack” by militants linked to the Islamic State group.

The U.K. government says the RAF has airlifted more than 12,000 people, including over 7,000 Afghans, from Kabul in the past two weeks. Heappey told the BBC that Britain plans to run 11 more evacuation flights from the airport on Thursday but the “window of opportunity to evacuate people is closing” as the U.S. prepares to end the operation by Aug. 31.

Read:Kabul airport explosions kill 13, many injured, says Russia

(AP)