2021 Kabul Airport attacks
bombingbombingKabul, Afghanistan
| File:Kabul bombings.jpg | |
| Date | 26 August 2021 |
|---|---|
| Location | Kabul, Afghanistan |
| Type | bombing |
| Deaths | 182+ |
| Injured (non-fatal) | 150+ |
| Description | Suicide bombings in the middle of the Afghanistan/2021 withdraw |
| Perpetrators | ISIS-K |
| Blamed on | ISIS-K |
On 26 August 2021 at 17:50 local time during the Afghanistan/2021 withdraw, a suicide bombing occurred near the Abbey Gate entrance to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Shortly after, another blast occurred at a nearby hotel. At least 103 people were killed in the attacks, including Afghan civilians, Taliban members and 13 US service personnel.[1]
Initial report
At 4:15pm on 26 August 2021, the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner tweeted:
Kabul hospital reports 30 wounded from airport blast. 6 died on the way to hospital. Suspicion falling on ISIS-K as the culprits.[2]
ISIS-K claims responsibility
On 26 August 2021, Evan Kohlmann tweeted that ISIS-K had claimed responsibility for the 2021 Kabul Airport attacks and posted a photo of suicide bomber "Abdul Rahman al-Lowgari who carried out the martyrdom operation near Kabul Airport."[3]
Biden responds
The Australian newspaper reported:
US President Joe Biden said he stood ready to authorise further military force in Afghanistan and the US would “hunt down” the terrorist attackers that have left more than 100 dead, including 13 US marines, near Kabul airport.
In a televised address, he said the US would not be deterred by terrorism and the attacks would not shift the US from its timetable to complete the evacuation of US citizens by August 31.
“To those who carried out this attack, know this, we will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay,” he said. “We have some reason to believe we know who they are, although we aren’t certain,” he added at a press conference at the White House.[4]
Misguided retaliation
The final note of the occupation was the US military’s response to the ISIS-K attack – to launch an air strike at a car full of children with a former embassy translator (on his way to be evacuated), and then try to pass it off as a success. In that sense, the war ended as it began – with senseless violence against civilians, failure and dishonesty (Tejas Mukerji in Bella Caledonia).[5]
References
- ↑ "13 U.S. troops killed in ISIS attacks on Kabul airport"
- ↑ "Kabul hospital reports 30 wounded from airport blast"
- ↑ "ISIS has now formally claimed responsibility for the Kabul bombings and has provided a photo of at least one alleged suicide bomber"
- ↑ "Kabul terror bombings kill at least 100, including 13 US marines"
- ↑ "The harsh truths you won’t hear about the withdrawal from Afghanistan"