What happened on the day of the suicide terrorist attack at Kabul Airport? |Afghanistan|US Army|Kabul_Sina News

Original title: What happened on the day of the suicide terrorist attack at Kabul Airport?

On August 26, a suicide bomb attack occurred outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. So far, at least 170 Afghans and 13 US troops have been killed, and a large number of people have been injured. The attack was planned by the Islamic State Khorasan Branch (ISIS-K) based in Afghanistan.

The preliminary investigation results of the explosion showed that the assailant mixed into the flow of people at the airport that day, passed the checkpoint set up by the Taliban outside the airport, arrived at the airport entrance, and detonated the bomb near the US military personnel who were conducting security checks. According to CCTV reports, amidst the chaos at the scene, some US troops opened fire after the explosion. Many Afghans and US personnel died not from the blast but from the shooting at the scene.

The US has so far launched two retaliatory air strikes against “ISIS-K”, killing several members of the organization. But the air strikes also caused several Afghan civilian casualties.

August 31 is the deadline for the U.S. military to complete its withdrawal, and the evacuation of overseas Chinese is coming to an end. The US stated that it will not leave any diplomats in Afghanistan after the 31st, but some US officials expect to set up an office in other neighboring countries to continue to help Afghans who want to leave to obtain the necessary departure documents.

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　　How did suicide attacks happen?

The United States is currently collecting intelligence information from various quarters, trying to restore what happened on the day of the suicide terrorist attack at Kabul Airport. At present, they have learned a few key puzzles of the day’s picture.

At 5:48 pm on August 26, local time, a suicide attacker wearing a 25-pound explosive vest detonated a bomb at an entrance of Kabul Airport.

At that time, U.S. military personnel were conducting security checks on entrants at this entrance. Thousands of people gathered around the entrance, hoping to enter the airport and evacuate. The explosion has so far killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US troops.

The suicide bomber waited until the last minute after approaching US security personnel before detonating the bomb. Earlier in the day, Taliban personnel stationed outside the airport patrolled at its checkpoint to control the constant influx of people who wanted to enter the airport, but the suicide attacker wearing a 25-pound explosive vest still got into the crowd and came. Go to the airport entrance gate guarded by the US military. Before being searched by the US military, he detonated a bomb.

Military personnel killed in the explosion knew that they could be the target of the attack. One day before the explosion, the U.S. State Department issued a warning saying that there were “credible” threats at the three entrances of the airport, and closed two entrance gates, leaving only one entrance open, and the subsequent explosion occurred here. An entrance.

The New York Times reported that suicide bombers usually only wear vests containing 10 to 20 pounds of explosives, but in this bombing incident, the attackers wore 25-pound explosive vests, which also contained sharp metal pieces. A large number of people at the explosion site were injured as a result.

The US military’s previous preliminary report stated that there were two separate suicide bombing attacks at the scene, but subsequent investigations revealed that only one explosion occurred at the entrance of the Abe Gate that day.

The New York Times reported that after the explosion, armed personnel guarding the airport began to open fire. The scene was chaotic. Many American personnel and Afghans may have been shot dead.

According to an interview video by BBC reporter Secunder Kermani, the families of the victims of the Kabul Airport bombing said that their relatives did not die from the bombing, but were shot and killed by foreign soldiers after the bombing.

“Los Angeles Times” Middle East bureau chief Nabih Bulos (Nabih Bulos) said on social media that a doctor at a local hospital said that many of the bodies sent from the airport to the hospital had gunshot wounds.

According to a CCTV report, the reporter from the China Central Radio and Television Station in Kabul visited the hospital where the wounded were treated and learned that at the Kabul airport that day, the U.S. military shot at the people after the explosion, causing more casualties.

A wounded person said in an interview, “The explosion did not hurt me, but the U.S. army shot at us and my hand and other parts were hit. I can’t remember what happened later. (The explosion) caused me. The number of casualties was not high, but after that the US military shot and used tear gas, resulting in a large number of casualties.”

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　　After the suicide bombing, how did the US react?

After the suicide bombing attack on Kabul Airport, the extremist organization “ISIS Khorasan Branch” (ISIS-K) declared responsibility for it. U.S. President Biden stated on August 26 that he would “let him pay the price.”

At 2 a.m. local time on August 28, the US launched its first retaliatory air strike against “ISIS-K.”

U.S. drones carried out an air strike in a courtyard in Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province, eastern Afghanistan. The target of the air strike was two planners and organizers of the suicide bombing attack at Kabul Airport. Sitting in a car. The US stated that there were zero civilian casualties in the attack.

However, CNN reported that locals around the airstrike site said that at least three people were killed in the airstrike, one man, one woman and one child, and several others were injured. Locals said that the residents at the location of the air raid came from another nearby town. They have lived here for less than three months and did not have any close contact with the surrounding residents.

On the 28th, Biden issued a statement stating that Kabul Airport will be “very likely” to encounter another bombing attack and that he will continue to carry out air strikes.

The next day, the US carried out a second retaliatory air strike, claiming that it killed several “ISIS-K” suicide bombers who planned to attack Kabul Airport again. The U.S. carried out a drone attack that day and destroyed two vehicles suspected of attempting to carry out a suicide bombing attack.

The Associated Press reported that the drone attacked two cars parked in a residential building near the airport that day. A senior U.S. official said that they saw someone loading explosives into the trunk of a vehicle, so the U.S. carried out a drone attack on the vehicle. The attack triggered the first explosion, but then a larger explosion fireball was produced, which is considered evidence of a large number of explosives in the car.

The Associated Press reported that there were initial reports that a building near the airport was hit by a rocket, but the results showed that the incident was a drone attack carried out by the United States.

Afghan Taliban spokesman Mujahid strongly condemned the US air strikes in an interview with CGTN on the 30th, saying that the attack carried out on the night of the 29th had caused at least 7 deaths. CNN reported that nine members of a family, including six children, who lived at the location of the airstrike were killed in a U.S. drone attack. The family are ordinary civilians and are not members of the extremist organization “ISIS” (ISIS).

The U.S. Central Command said it was investigating civilian casualties in the airstrike, saying that a vehicle carrying a large number of explosives caused a more intense explosion after the airstrike, which may have caused additional casualties.

Mujahid said that the Taliban condemned the attack by the US military and that arbitrary attacks in other countries are illegal. “If there are any potential threats in Afghanistan, the US should first inform us instead of launching an attack that causes civilian casualties.”

On August 30, local time, with less than 48 hours left in the U.S. withdrawal, the terrorist attack on the Kabul Airport occurred again.

An American official stated that a car fired five rockets at Kabul Airport that day, and the rockets were intercepted and shot down by the airport’s C-RAM air defense system. As of now, there have been no reports of casualties.

CNN reported that after the rocket was launched, the vehicle caught fire on a street about 2 kilometers from the airport. A photo of the car taken by an AFP photojournalist showed that the rocket launcher could still be seen in the back seat.

The Associated Press reported that an eyewitness said that a building in a block near the airport seemed to have been hit by a rocket, and heavy smoke rose from the sky above the building. Gunshots also occurred after the explosion.

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　　Will the US military withdraw as scheduled before August 31?

As the August 31 withdrawal deadline approaches, the evacuation of Americans in the United States is gradually coming to an end.

U.S. Pentagon officials said on the 28th that the U.S. military has begun to rectify the troops and equipment at Kabul Airport and is preparing to withdraw all by the 31st.

On that day, almost all the staff of the US Embassy in Afghanistan were packing up and preparing to evacuate. Before departure, they hurriedly processed a large number of visa applications from locally-employed Afghan staff, American citizens or permanent residents, and evacuees from third countries and non-governmental organizations.

“The Wall Street Journal” reported that about 350 American citizens have sent evacuation applications to the U.S. State Department wishing to leave Afghanistan, but some may have successfully evacuated. The US said that they are fully capable of withdrawing the last 300 US citizens before the 31st.

On the 28th, about 1,400 people were waiting for the evacuation flight at Kabul Airport. At present, the number of people evacuated from Kabul every day has dropped drastically. On the 27th, the United States and its allies evacuated about 6,800 people. Earlier last week, the number of people evacuated every day reached a maximum of 22,000.

Outside the airport, the Taliban tightened the security cordon around the airport because the Afghans crowded outside the airport gate are gradually retreating.

The Guardian reported that the US State Department issued a joint statement from about 100 countries including the United States and Britain on the 29th, stating that it has received a “guarantee” from the Taliban that it will allow all foreigners and Afghanistan with travel permits from other countries. People leave Afghanistan.

The Taliban said that after the United States completes its withdrawal on the 31st, it will take over the Kabul Airport and allow normal travel.

On August 29, U.S. Secretary of State Blincoln stated that it is unlikely that the U.S. will continue to station diplomats in Afghanistan after all U.S. troops withdraw on the 31st. On August 15, the day the Taliban took over Kabul, the US Embassy in Afghanistan was closed, and all its personnel were evacuated by US troops to a security compound at Kabul Airport. At present, as all US troops are about to withdraw, the US State Department will withdraw its diplomats.

A US official said that it is expected that the US mission in Afghanistan will set up an office in other countries around the region to continue to help Afghans who want to leave to obtain the necessary departure documents. This diplomatic office may be located in Pakistan or the United Arab Emirates, because both countries have a large number of people from Afghanistan.

The New York Times reported that the Taliban had expressed the hope that diplomats from the United States and other countries would stay in Kabul in order to recognize the legitimacy of the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan.

Reporter|Xiang Chenyu

Editor in charge: Zhu Xuesen SN240