Details are still limited, but there has been an explosion, as well as reports of gunfire, outside of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul where throngs of Afghans continue to gather hoping to escape the country by air. There have been reports for days now that the U.S. government has been increasingly worried that ISIS' franchise in Afghanistan, which is hostile to the United States and its allies and partners, as well as the Taliban, might launch an attack on crowds near the airport, which is the current nexus for all foreign evacuation operations.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby has confirmed the blast, but offered no additional details. There is no official word yet on any casualties or who might have been responsible.
Various media outlets are separately reporting that this was a complex attack that started with a suicide bombing, which was then followed by gunmen attacking the airport. Whether there is still a firefight actively going on outside the airport is unclear.
Multiple foreign government officials had publicly warned just this morning about the possibility of an imminent attack at the airport. There was "very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack" within "hours," U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey had told the BBC.
"We received information at the military level from the United States, but also from other countries, that there were indications that there was a threat of suicide attacks on the mass of people," Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Cross De Cross had also said.
"Due to threats outside the Kabul airport, US citizens should avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates unless you receive instructions to do so," an official travel advisory from the U.S. State Department yesterday had advised. "Those at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately."
This is a rapidly developing story and we will continue to update this piece as more information becomes available.
Update 10:35 AM EST:
New reports are indicating that the initial blast occurred in a sewage canal just outside the airport, an area that is a known chokepoint for getting in and out of the perimeter. There are also reports emerging that U.S. service members may be among the casualties.
Pictures and video reportedly of the aftermath of this apparent attack are also beginning to emerge, but at least some of the imagery circulating on social media is actually unrelated to this incident.
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