Just hours after the Defense Department issued warnings about an increased threat from Afghanistan’s version of ISIS, a large explosion occurred outside the airport in Kabul. As The New York Times reported on Wednesday evening, the U.S. issued warnings both on the air and directly to the crowd on the ground, warning them to “leave immediately” because of increased threats from terrorist groups. The credibility of those threats is no longer in doubt, as the Pentagon has confirmed an explosion near the airport.

Reports indicate that several Afghans trying to gain access to the airport may have died in the explosion, and American military members were injured. CNN is now reporting that the blast took place just outside one of the entry gates to the airport and appears to be a suicide bombing. Some reports have indicated that three members of U.S. forces were injured in the bombing. The Pentagon has not yet confirmed this.

In questioning earlier this week, President Joe Biden made it clear that the longer the evacuation continued, the more likely the airport would become a site targeted by ISIS-K or other terrorist groups operating in opposition to both the U.S. and the Taliban. The large number of people gathered along the roadway between Kabul and the airport—and the knowledge that this group could include both Americans and Afghans who assisted the U.S. war effort—makes a vulnerable target of evacuees for terrorist attacks.

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 2:47:58 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Reports out of Kabul indicate that planes are continuing to take off and land, continuing the evacuation.

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 2:49:22 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 2:50:29 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Keep in mind that this is coming from Politico, which has been describing the situation as “chaos” for days, so the level of “absolute mayhem” cited here may or may not be indicative of conditions on the ground.

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 2:51:09 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 3:07:35 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

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            Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 ·  4:07:15 PM +00:00

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      Mark Sumner
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    Reports are now coming in that the gates into the airport have been sealed. Unclear what this means for the evacuation going forward, but it’s clear that the whole process just became much, much harder.

Information is only starting to appear on this event, so the scale of the bombing and the number of casualties is not yet clear. Some reports state that the explosion took place about 150-200 feet away from the gate where U.S. forces were letting people into the military side of the Hamid Karzai International Airport. If that’s the case, and there were injuries among those U.S. forces, then the toll among those waiting at the gate could be significant. 

Additional updates will be added to this story.