- Title: Wounded taken to hospital after attack on Kabul airport
- Date: 26th August 2021
- Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AUGUST 26, 2021) (REUTERS) SOUND OF SIRENS, EMERGENCY VEHICLES OUTSIDE THE EMERGENCY HOSPITAL VARIOUS OF MEN UNLOADING COVERED BODY FROM VEHICLE VARIOUS OF MEN UNLOADING STRETCHER FROM AMBULANCE (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) BLAST EYEWITNESS, ASHRAF, SAYING: "It was time for the evening prayer when an explosion happened near the airport, I saw about 70 vehicles carried around 150 injuries to the hospital." VEHICLES AND CROWDS OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL EMERGENCY VEHICLES DRIVING PAST A RELATIVE OF ONE OF THE BLAST VICTIMS (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) RELATIVE OF ONE OF THE BLAST VICTIMS, SAYING: "People were standing at the airport gate for evacuation when the blast happened. They (ambulances) are carrying injuries and deaths. My cousin was also wounded on his leg so we brought him to the hospital." EMERGENCY VEHICLE DRIVING UP TO HOSPITAL CROWD OF PEOPLE WAITING OUTSIDE HOSPITAL
- Embargoed: 9th September 2021 16:54
- Keywords: Afghanistan Kabul Taliban blast emergency explosion hospital victims
- Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001ERX4EO7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Suspected suicide bombers struck the crowded gates of Kabul airport with at least two explosions on Thursday (August 26), causing a bloodbath among desperate civilians hoping to flee and casting the final days of the Western airlift of its allies into chaos.
A Taliban official said at least 13 people including children had been killed. A surgical hospital run by an Italian charity said it was treating more than 60 wounded. The Pentagon said U.S. personnel were among those hurt.
The explosion took place amid crowds outside the airport, where desperate Afghans have been massing in hope of escaping in an airlift which the United States says will end by Tuesday following the swift capture of the country by the Taliban.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, but Washington and its allies had been urging civilians to stay away from the airport on Thursday because of a threat of a suicide attack by Islamic State militants, enemies of both the West and the Taliban.
Western countries have evacuated nearly 100,000 people, mostly Afghans who helped them, in the past 12 days. But they acknowledge that thousands more will be left behind following President Joe Biden's order to pull out all troops by Aug 31.
Several U.S. officials said the blast appeared to be a suicide attack. A witness in Kabul saw many wounded men, women, and children waiting for treatment outside a hospital.
The Taliban official said many Taliban guards, who are securing the airport, were among the wounded.
The airlift for civilians is in its final days, with Washington saying it will use the last two days mainly to pull out its own troops. Allies that fought alongside U.S. forces for 20 years in Afghanistan have been wrapping up their own evacuations while publicly lamenting Washington's haste in pulling out.
Biden ordered all troops out of Afghanistan by the end of the month to comply with a withdrawal agreement with the Taliban negotiated by his predecessor Donald Trump. He spurned calls from European allies for more time. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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