This blog is now closed – you can find all the latest developments at the link below:
Going back to Biden’s comments earlier. He also said, when asked what he had to say to the Afghans who helped American troops and who may not get out by 31 August that, “We will do whatever we can to get you out.”
But he added that, “I know of no conflict, as a student of history, no conflict when a war was ending one side was able to guarantee that everyone who wanted to be extracted from that country was able to get out.”
Wall Street Journal National Security reporter Vivian Salama reports that White House Press secretary has clarified those statements, saying that it will be very difficult to evacuate all Afghans who want to leave.
Vivian Salama(@vmsalama)
.@PressSec clarifies POTUS’ statements about Afghan evacuations,saying that at a time when the taliban is taking over the country, it’s going to be very difficult to evacuate all Afghans who want to be evacuated. But they are committed to getting all US citizens & US partners out https://t.co/GCba6wZE50
House speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered the flags at the US Capitol in Washington to be flown at half-staff “in honour of the US service members and others” killed in the attack.
Nancy Pelosi(@SpeakerPelosi)
Today, I ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at half-staff in honor of the U.S. Servicemembers & others killed in the terrorist attack outside of the Kabul airport.
Congress & the Country pray for the innocent lives lost, those injured & the families of all affected. pic.twitter.com/JvxE1MeoTc
Reuters reports that that an additional service member has died from the Kabul attack, bringing the number of US casualties to 13.
To give you an idea of how crowded the area of the attack has been in recent days, this is a video taken there on Wednesday afternoon – a day before the attacks – from LA Times correspondent Nabih Boulos:
Nabih(@nabihbulos)
We (myself & @yamphoto) visited the area near Abbey gate the day before the explosion happened. It was absolutely full of people, all in a penned area. This was massively cruel. #Kabul, #Afghanistanpic.twitter.com/FtkdH1wu0o
More now from Australia, where it is the start of the workday on Friday morning.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has responded to the attacks on Twitter, saying he is “Deeply saddened by the deaths of US military personnel and Afghans in the horrific terrorist attacks in Kabul. We mourn your tragic loss. Australia condemns these heinous and barbaric attacks.”
Morrison confirmed that all Australian defence force and other personnel “are safe”.
Scott Morrison(@ScottMorrisonMP)
Deeply saddened by the deaths of US military personnel and Afghans in the horrific terrorist attacks in Kabul. We mourn your tragic loss.
Australia condemns these heinous and barbaric attacks.
All our brave ADF and Australian personnel are safe.
The Australian government has confirmed the last Australian defence force personnel left Kabul before the suicide bombings occurred.
Australia’s defence minister, Peter Dutton, described the attacks as “horrible, horrible day” in an interview with local media and said he grieved at the loss of life. He also paid tribute to the US personnel who had died, saying American personnel had helped thousands of Australian citizens, permanent residents and visa holders to get into the airport over the course of the past week.
We put out advice at 6:15 yesterday morning and had sent text messages, emails to Australians and those people we knew in the vicinity to say vacate because there was clear intelligence that IS-KP intended to strike and strike hard. They’ve done that.
These people are more extreme than the Taliban and are basically at war with the Taliban. It is a horribly complex situation. I’m very pleased and relieved our soldiers have departed from Kabul and we took the decision to lift the last of our people yesterday and they are safely in the United Arab Emirates and I’m very pleased for that.”
Asked what now for any Australians still in Afghanistan, Dutton appeared to individual the evacuation operations were now finished: “I think we should recognise we’ve lifted over 4,000 people over the course of the last week.”
He added:
If we were to continue in that situation, we would have had casualties now as well. In that situation, we can’t continue to put our ADF personnel and their lives at risk and that’s the situation, the reality of what’s on the ground at the moment, which hasn’t made it possible for us to lift more people out.”
The Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan has claimed responsibility for the attack outside the Kabul airport.
Just to recap: Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport on Thursday, killing at least 60 Afghans and 12 US troops, Afghan and US officials said.
The IS branch, known as The Islamic State-Khorasan Province after a name for the region from antiquity, said in its claim of responsibility that it targeted American troops and their Afghan allies.
The Associated Press reports that the statement carried a photo of what the militant group said was the bomber who carried out the attack. The image shows the alleged attacker standing with the explosive belt in front of the black IS flag with a black cloth covering his face, only his eyes showing.
An IS official Amaq news agency said on its Telegram channel that the member was named Abdul Rahman al-Logari. The name suggests the the killer was Afghan.
IS also said the bomber managed to get past Taliban security checkpoints to come within 5 meters (yards) of a gathering of US soldiers, translators and collaborators before detonating his explosives. It said Taliban were also among the casualties.
The statement also said the bomber got around US security measures and that the camp that was targeted was where US forces were gathering paperwork for those who’ve worked with the military, AP reports.
It is important to note that these claims have not been verified independently – they are Islamic State’s version of what occurred.
Thursday’s attacks marked the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan since 6 August 2011, and the first military deaths since February 2020, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Vivian Salama(@vmsalama)
For context, this was the deadliest day for the US military in Afghanistan since August 6, 2011… more than a decade ago. It was the first military death in Afghanistan since February 2020.
I just want to highlight a few key points from Biden’s remarks and responses to journalists’ questions a short while ago, in which he held firm on the 31 August deadline – and his decision to withdraw.
Biden was asked whether additional forces would be sent to Afghanistan to protect the airport.
The president responded to say that he had told the military he would provide whatever they needed, including additional force, but that military joint chiefs and commanders in the field had written to him to say they “subscribe to the mission as designed”.
Biden said of the IS leaders who ordered the attacks, “We have some reason to believe we know who they are, not certain, and we will find ways of our choosing to get them, without large military operations, to get them.”
If you’re just joining us, here are the key recent developments:
Joe Biden spoke briefly at the White House on Thursday afternoon in Washington. “We will not forget,” he said, as he vowed to “hunt down” the people behind the attacks. He vowed that the US would get any Americans left in Afghanistan out of the country and said that the IS members who ordered the attacks would be found without using “large military force”.
At least 60 civilians and 12 US service members were killed on Thursday night when two suicide bombers and a gunman struck one of the main entrances to Kabul’s international airport just hours after western intelligence agencies warned of an imminent threat to the ongoing, urgent evacuation operation.
The US military’s central commander, General Kenneth F McKenzie, said the US is prepared to take action against those responsible for the Kabul attack. Mckenzie said that cooperation with the Taliban had probably thwarted earlier attacks. Responding to the attacks, the McKenzie insisted the evacuation operation would go on.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. An IS official Amaq news agency said on its Telegram channel that a member called Abdul Rahman al-Logari carried out “the martyrdom operation near Kabul Airport”. The name suggests the the killer was Afghan.
A further blast heard in Kabul after the IS attacks was a controlled explosion by US military who were destroying ammunition,according to a Taliban spokesman.
UK Prime minister Boris Johnson said of the UK’s ongoing evacuation effort, “we’re going to keep going until the last moment”despite the deadly attack.
A blast heard in Kabul after the terror attacks was a controlled explosion by US military who were destroying ammunition, according to a Taliban spokesperson, via Reuters.
Hi, this is Helen Sullivan taking over from my colleague Alex Mistlin.
I’ll be bringing you the latest developments in this distressing story as they happen. As always, if you see news you think our readers ought to know please send it to me on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.
I’m signing off now, leaving you in the hands of my excellent colleague, Helen Sullivan.
Stay right here for the latest breaking developments from Kabul. Until next time, bye!
The Times are exclusively reporting that UK Foreign Office staff left documents with the contact details of Afghans who worked with them at the British embassy compound in Kabul.
The British embassy compound in Kabul has since been seized by the Taliban.
Biden has just finished taking questions but the UK has published its official figures on the progress of its evacuation effort Operation Pitting.
The military evacuation of Afghan and British nationals, under Operation Pitting, has so far extracted 13,146 people out of Kabul since the mission began on Friday 13 August.
This includes embassy staff, British Nationals, those eligible under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) programme and a number of nationals from partner nations.
British nationals should call the FCDO on +44 (0)1908 516666 and select the option “Consular services for British nationals” as soon as possible to confirm their departure plans.
At least 60 civilians and 12 US service members were killed as Islamic State claimed responsibility for a twin suicide bomb attack outside Kabul airport.
I know Americans get this in their gut. There are millions of Afghani [sic] citizens who are not Taliban who did not actively cooperate with us…who if given a chance would be on board a plane tomorrow.
The security operation at Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul depended heavily on the Taliban for its effectiveness.
But Biden says he doesn’t believe relying on the Taliban for help in evacuation security was “a mistake.”
Even today 5,000 American got out safe. It’s not a matter of trust but of mutual self-interest. There is no evidence that I’ve been given thus far that there has been collusion between the Taliban and ISIS.
President Biden has begun taking questions from the White Press press corps.
He says the US government have some reason to believe we know who the attackers are but “we aren’t certain”.
Biden asks for a moments silence for those who died in the attacks today.
President Joe Biden pauses for a moment of silence for the U.S. service members killed at the Kabul airport. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
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