Early Thursday, two bombs went off outside the gates of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The Pentagon has now issued a statement confirming that one of these bombs resulted in the deaths of “a number of U.S. service members.” Other members of the U.S. military are being treated for injuries. Though the Pentagon did not cite an exact number, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that four Marines were killed, along with at least 13 Afghans and others who were gathered outside waiting to enter the airport. Taliban sources are also claiming that some of the Taliban fighters near the airport have also been killed. Causalities surrounding a second bombing, which took place about a block away, are unknown.

Credit for the attack has been claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan Province, also known as ISIS-K or ISIL in Afghanistan. CNN is now reporting that intelligence connecting ISIS-K to the explosions is “firm.” 

This attack has caused at least a temporary halt in what has been a highly successful evacuation effort in which over 100,000 people have been airlifted from Kabul to staging areas around the world. The pace of that operation had been increasing by the day, but reports now indicate that the airport gates are shut, and while planes have continued to come in and out, even after the bombing, it’s unclear when or how the evacuation process will resume. About 1,500 Americans are thought to still be residents in Afghanistan, along with several thousand Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the two-decade war.

Until Thursday’s explosion, the evacuation from Afghanistan had been remarkable for how it had proceeded with no U.S. casualties.

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 6:03:26 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

More recent reporting indicates that the death toll among Afghans gathered outside the gate is at least 60. 

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 6:06:31 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Fox News is now reporting 10 U.S. service members killed. This has no confirmation from other sources.

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 6:27:20 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resumed that U.K. planes will resume evacuations in spite of the two explosions outside the airport. As CNN reports, Johnson called the attacks “despicable,” but also said, “It isn’t going to interrupt our progress, we are going to get on with our evacuation.”

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 6:34:03 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

BBC sources indicate at least 60 people killed, and 140 injured between the two explosions.

Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 · 6:39:56 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Associated Press now reporting that sources within the Pentagon are saying that 11 Marines and a Navy medic were killed in the explosions. 

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            Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 ·  6:41:04 PM +00:00

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      Mark Sumner
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    Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby will be speaking to the media at 2 PM ET. Daily Kos will follow this press conference live.

In appearances earlier in the week, President Joe Biden warned that that the airport would be the target of potential attacks by ISIS-K and other terrorist groups. Over the last two days, both the Pentagon and the provisional Taliban government have issued warnings for people to stay away from the area outside the airport, citing knowledge of an attack in the planning. On Wednesday evening, NATO forces also issued a directive asking people to stay away from the airport based on what was described as “very, very credible” reporting of a terrorist operation underway.

Early reports indicated that the larger explosion, which took place near one of the gates where U.S. forces were allowing people into the military side of the airport, was a suicide bombing.