Amid chaos and mayhem, the US on Thursday (local time) evacuated 7,500 people from Afghanistan after a twin blast rocked Kabul airport and Baron Hotel that killed 13 US troops and injured an additional 15 service members as well as numerous Afghan civilians.
"From August 26 at 3:00 AM EDT to August 26 at 3:00 PM EDT, a total of approximately 7,500 people were evacuated from Kabul. This is the result of 14 US military flights (13 C-17s and 1 C-130) which carried approximately 5,100 evacuees and 39 coalition flights which carried 2,400 people," stated a White House official.
The first blast was reported at the Abbey Gate in Kabul airport while the second one was near the Baron Hotel.
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"Since August 14, the US has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 100,100 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 105,700 people," said the official.
The US flag will be flown at half-mast until the evening of August 30 to honour the victims killed in the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan's Kabul, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
{{/usCountry}}The US flag will be flown at half-mast until the evening of August 30 to honour the victims killed in the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan's Kabul, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
{{/usCountry}}US President Joe Biden said the United States has reason to believe the leaders of the Islamic State-Khorasan terror group are behind the attacks at the Kabul airport.
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Biden said the Islamic State-Khorasan has planned complex attacks against US forces and others in Afghanistan after they were released from prisons during the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.