New Delhi: India on Thursday condemned the bomb blasts that took place at the Kabul airport that targeted several people awaiting to get on flights to leave Afghanistan. Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans at the airport, transforming a scene of desperation into one of the horrors in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. The attacks killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, US officials said.
"India strongly condemns the bomb blasts in Kabul today. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this terrorist attack. Our thoughts and prayers also go out to the injured. Today’s attacks reinforce the need for the world to stand unitedly against terrorism and all those who provide sanctuaries to terrorists," the Ministry of External Affairs issuing a brief statement said.
Also read: Kabul airport attack kills 60 Afghans, 13 US troops
One of the bombers struck people standing knee-deep in a wastewater canal under the sweltering sun, throwing bodies into the fetid water. Those who moments earlier had hoped to get on flights out could be seen carrying the wounded to ambulances in a daze, their own clothes darkened with blood. The blasts came hours after Western officials had very clearly warned of a major attack, urging people to leave the airport. But that advice went largely unheeded by Afghans desperate to escape the country in the last few days of an American-led evacuation before the U.S. officially ends its 20-year presence on Aug. 31.
The U.S. general overseeing the evacuation said the attacks would not stop the United States from evacuating Americans and others, and flights out were continuing. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said there was a large amount of security at the airport, and alternate routes were being used to get evacuees in. About 5,000 people were awaiting flights on the airfield, McKenzie said.
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The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the killings on its Amaq news channel. The IS affiliate in Afghanistan is far more radical than the Taliban, who recently took control of the country in a lightning blitz. The Taliban were not believed to have been involved in the attacks and condemned the blasts.
Already, some countries have ended their evacuations and begun to withdraw their soldiers and diplomats, signaling the beginning of the end of one of history’s largest airlifts. The Taliban have pledged not to attack Western forces during the evacuation, but insist the foreign troops must be out by America’s self-imposed deadline of Aug. 31.
Also read: 'We will hunt you down': Biden warns Kabul airport attackers
Overnight, warnings emerged from Western capitals about a threat from Afghanistan’s Islamic State group affiliate, which likely has seen its ranks boosted by the Taliban’s freeing of prisoners during their blitz across the country.
British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey had told media agencies "very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack" at the airport, possibly within "hours." Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said his country had received information from the U.S. and other countries about the "threat of suicide attacks on the mass of people."
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The acting U.S. ambassador to Kabul, Ross Wilson, said the security threat at the Kabul airport overnight was "clearly regarded as credible, as imminent, as compelling."
Late Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy had warned citizens at three airport gates to leave immediately due to an unspecified security threat. Australia, Britain and New Zealand had also advised their citizens Thursday not to go to the airport, with Australia’s foreign minister saying there was a "very high threat of a terrorist attack."
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that any attack was imminent in the wake of those warnings. Earlier Thursday, the Taliban had sprayed a water cannon at those gathered at one airport gate to try to drive the crowd away, as someone launched tear gas canisters elsewhere.
Also read: UK's Johnson condemns 'barbaric' Kabul attack
President Joe Biden vowed Thursday to complete the evacuation of American citizens and others from Afghanistan despite the day’s deadly suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport. He promised to avenge the deaths of 13 U.S. service members killed in the attack, declaring to the extremists responsible: "We will hunt you down and make you pay."
