The number of victims in the deadly bombing outside Kabul’s airport rose sharply, with authorities now saying at least 170 people were killed in the attack and 200 more wounded. The updated figures do not include the 13 members of the U.S. military who were killed and the 15 wounded in the blast. The Pentagon also clarified that the attack was a single explosion at the Abbey gate at Hamid Karzai International airport on Thursday. Initial reports had said there was a second blast.
Less than a day after the attack, American troops resumed evacuation flights as the people once again tried to reach the airport in hopes of finding a way out of Kabul. There are reports of much smaller crowds at the airport now, likely because of Taliban forces blocking access to the airport about 500 yards from the main gate.
CNN is reporting that the remaining focus for the final four days of the U.S. mission is to get people with special last-minute access requests to the airport. Getting people to the airport remains a difficult task because of the coordination with the Taliban that it requires.
The Americans soldiers hurt in Thursday’s attack were flown to Ramstein Air Base in Germany and then transferred to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for treatment, according to Pentagon officials. Ramstein Air Base is also where many Afghans have been flown to once they leave Kabul. It’s one of the main stopover destinations for the evacuees. A temporary shelter at the air base can house up to 10,000 people.
Despite the devastating bombing, the White House said early Friday that 12,500 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan in the previous 24 hours.
We’re learning the identities of some of the U.S. service members killed in Thursday’s suicide bombing by the terrorist group ISIS-K.
Maxton Soviak from Ohio, was a Navy medic. He had graduated from high school in 2017. His sister confirmed his death in an Instagram post paying tribute to her brother.
Another of the U.S. service members who died in the attack was Kareem Nikoui, a Marine from California. The Daily Beast confirmed Nikoui, who had been stationed at the Kabul airport, had been killed after talking with his father Friday morning.