Suicide bombing at Kabul airport.. Civilian casualties and injuries among American soldiers
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On Thursday, the US Department of Defense confirmed that an explosion occurred in the vicinity of Kabul airport, hours after Britain confirmed the receipt of intelligence confirming an imminent attack on the airport, which disrupted the evacuations.
The Pentagon said that a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to Kabul's northern airport.
The press secretary of the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said today, Thursday, that an explosion occurred outside the airport of the Afghan capital, Kabul, while Afghan websites reported that 11 people were killed and wounded in the explosion, while initial reports indicated that it was a suicide bomber.
Later, a US official told Reuters that US military personnel were among the wounded in the explosion, according to preliminary information.
Sources said that the explosion occurred near the Baron Hotel, where British forces and journalists are staying in Kabul.
The blast came at a time of accelerating efforts to evacuate from Kabul.
A White House official said US President Joe Biden was briefed on the blast.
An informed source said that Biden was in a meeting with security officials to discuss the situation in Afghanistan when the first news of the explosion arrived.
Washington is in the process of final steps to end its 20-year military presence in Afghanistan.
The United States is racing against time to complete air evacuations of Americans and some Afghans from Kabul before a deadline for its full military withdrawal by August 31.
On Thursday, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada announced the suspension of evacuations from Kabul airport in the coming hours, after threats revealed by European officials, indicating that intelligence information appeared to be confirmed about an imminent attack at Kabul airport.
For his part, the British Armed Forces Minister, James Hebei, confirmed that "there is more certain intelligence information about an imminent attack at Kabul airport ... the threat is very credible," noting that "the chance of evacuating people is diminishing."
After the British warnings, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced earlier Thursday that there was a high threat of a terrorist attack near Kabul airport, as Canberra urged its citizens and those with an entry visa to Australia to stay away from the region.
In addition, the US embassy in Kabul advised, at dawn on Thursday, through a security warning, Americans not to go to Kabul airport.
It also called on Americans already at the airport gates to leave immediately.
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