‘Priority Remains to Evacuate People’: NATO Chief After Kabul Airport Blasts

At least 20 people have died and more than 70 are injured, as per reports so far, after two back-to-back explosions outside the Kabul airport on Thursday in what the US “definitely believed to be” carried out by ISIS.

Written by: India.com News Desk Edited by: Sharmita Kar

Published: August 26, 2021, 10:05 PM IST

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This satellite image courtesy of MAXAR, shows the area around the Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 23, 2021. (AFP Photo)

Kabul: NATO chief has asserted that the ongoing evacuation operations must continue even after the “horrific terrorist attack”. At least 20 people have died and more than 70 are injured, as per reports so far, after two back-to-back explosions outside the Kabul airport on Thursday in what the US “definitely believed to be” carried out by ISIS.

Taking to Twitter, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg wrote: “I strongly condemn the horrific terrorist attack outside #Kabul airport. My thoughts are with all those affected and their loved ones. Our priority remains to evacuate as many people to safety as quickly as possible.”

I strongly condemn the horrific terrorist attack outside #Kabul airport. My thoughts are with all those affected and their loved ones. Our priority remains to evacuate as many people to safety as quickly as possible.

— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) August 26, 2021

The number of casualties in the twin explosions is expected to rise further.

The blasts took place at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport where thousands of people had gathered outside the airport over the past few weeks to escape Afghanistan amid Taliban takeover.

“We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties. We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate. We will continue to update.” US Department of Defense press secretary John Kirby informed.