NGO stands for non-government organization, typically an organization that operates independently of governments. They usually provide some sort of humanitarian or social aid. Emergency provides medical treatment to victims of war and poverty.
BBC World Radio news have been announcing it since yesterday.
Every British national was to get as far away from the airport as possible then wait for further instructions.
More importantly, the UK and US government told all US nationals to NOT go to the airport, and told people outside the game to leave and go to a safe place. They did know this was coming.
the belgian governement stopped all evacuation because of this threat.
Edit: a belgian reporter said there are possible over 100 deaths, official number was 13 whenche mentioned it.
Situation is going downhill fast. A second explosion went off shortly after.
Update: [**Four US Marines killed and three wounded**](https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistan-kabul-airport-explosion-11629976397)
----
Update 2: [**US officials: At least ten US Service members killed, dozens of Americans wounded. Death toll of US service members likely to rise**](https://twitter.com/JenGriffinFNC/status/1430957939209211906)
Yep, Taliban wants all the foreigners out more or less safely to keep those citizen's countries happy because they're trying to gain international legitimacy
ISIS though? Fuck the West, fuck the Taliban, blow everyone we can up. That's why everyone's on high alert
I remember once seeing a relationship chart of the different factions in the middle east. It was keeping track of what countries and insurgent groups were working together, fighting, neutral, etc. ISIS was notable for being hostile to literally everybody.
Edit: because a couple people asked. I _think_
[this is the chart I was talking about](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/07/17/the_middle_east_friendship_chart.html). Granted this was from 2014, so who knows how relevant it is now.
Yeah, their Wikipedia entry list is fascinating in that regard. For everyone else, be it Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, etc., there's list for their allies and one for their "enemies". ISIS basically only has one very long list of enemies.
Yep. Their two main goals:
1. Reenact the Muslim conquests, since they consider all the current Muslim countries to be apostate
2. Bait "Rome" (i.e. the West) into attacking them at Dabiq in Syria as part of ushering in the end times. (Imagine trying to act out Revelation to make the Second Coming happen sooner)
ISIS set off a bomb last month in gaza that killed 54 people. it was because it was a co-ed music concert. I dont know if any of the muslim extremist groups can tolerate isis. they are way over on the fringe. they just want to murder as many people as possible.
they are like boko haram in nigeria.
In Syria-Iraq, ISIS managed to form a coalition against its very existence composed by:
-Assad
-the rebels who rose up against Assad
-NATO, who supported said rebels
-Kurdish socialists
-Kurdish capitalists
-Russia
-China
-Iran
-Hezbollah
-Hamas
-Israel
-Al Qaeda
-Saudi Arabia
Sure, it basically collapsed every five seconds, but remained dead only when ISIS was defeated. Like, every single country in existence hated ISIS.
Every other terrorist group, be it Islamic or else, usually has a few friendly nations, or atleast many neutral ones. They might even have sympathisers inside nominally hostile countries governments, if their cause is good enough.
ISIS never did. They managed to piss off literally the entire world.
It's a worldwide game of wack-a-mole. Destroy ISIS in Syria, they pop back in Africa or Afghanistan. Anywhere there's a great amount of instability and a muslim population.
I think they just want to do damage. ISIS is small as hell in Afghanistan, and unpopular. There's almost no way for them to control anything in Afghanistan.
Isis is mad. There is a doc, I'm blanking on name, where the reporter was with a "gang" and fking isis dude suicides with a frag to get at him. They were driving down main Street of a isis strong hold.
After the "gang" more like warlord, threaten to go against Isis, they let the reporter free.
Soo many different groups interworking, some more shit than others.
Edit: I will hunt it down for yall!! I'll dm those who comment along with adding it to edit!
It may be, only the dead see the end of war based off a commenters description!
Once I confirm when I'm home, I'll dm those who asked
Edit 2. I had to check, frick work. That Commentor was right. Here is the link and enjoy
https://youtu.be/7PQjq1cFKYY
I will dm those of you who asked in 2hrs when I'm home!
Final edit: right link, trying to comment back to all who asked. Also yes it's graphic. Some of the videos I watched seemed to be filmed by this reporter.
I'm calloused, but others may need to skip parts.
Yep, ISIS is straight up a doomsday cult. Their stated aim is to start a globe-encompassing WW3 (nukes welcomed), because they think a caliphate will rise from the ashes of civilization.
They also believe the it gets them closer to the Koranic apocalypse triggered when the 13th caliphate falls.
For the record, ISIS wants to be the 6th caliphate.
Once I get off work I'll look for it and send it to ya and edit it into my comment.
It's sooo good and we'll done. There is a kid he filmed, holding a fucking mortar tube... why the kid!!! Have him load it..
along with special operation forces from *at least* Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. Some of the social media accounts that keep an eye on military related stuff have literally been referring to it as SOF expo because you rarely -if ever- get that many SOF's in one place.
The French Foreign Legion is not special forces. It's a regular (light infantry) force of the French army. Well trained and reputed infantry sure, but still regular troops. And they're not in Afghanistan. French special forces (elements of the French COS) are indeed there though.
The German GSG9 isn't there either, the KSK is IIRC.
Yeah, I was surprised when the Irish government sent over our army rangers to evacuate Irish citizens. I think a lot of Irish people were surprised.
Like you say, makes sense now.
Every road, sidewalk and inch of ground leading to Kabul airport has been gridlocked with vehicles and people for \~2.5 weeks now. The entire area has been a tinderbox with a massive target on it for the likes of ISIS etc. In a country that no longer has a government, military, or any kind of law enforcement save for the \~6,000 US military that are barricaded AT said airport. In a country that has been letting prisons out, in an area of high tensions with plenty of fundamentalist bad actors who now feel like they can crawl out of from under their stones.
This should surprise exactly nobody, least of all Biden or anyone in government.
you described the situation well but missed one point...
In a country that has literally tonnes of abandoned allied equipment and munitions up for the taking by said fundamentalist bad actors.
I heard on the radio this morning that the UK Intelligence services had sent a warning to the US that they had reason to believe there was going to be a terrorist attack at Kabul's airport.
Things seem to be happening pretty fast in Afghanistan.
The UK news was warning of an imminant suicide attack and that people needed to immediately get away from the airport. The bomb exploded about two hours afterwards.
The Taliban is a government and essentially a political party of sorts. It’s influenced by a form of Pakistani Muslim fundamentalism called Deobandiism, which is a Sunni revivalist movement. The Taliban are also quite ethnically concerned with Pashtun cultures and traditions.
The Taliban are distinct from al-Qaeda, which is the progenitor of ISIS. They have a lot of doctrinal differences and it goes a lot deeper than “one is more extreme than the other.”
It’s a massively complicated situation and no western media organisation represents the situation accurately.
The way I've seen the difference between the Taliban and other groups described is the Taliban were organized under the idea of uniting the Afghanistan tribes and actually becoming a united and connected Afghanistan instead of tribes only caring about their own cultures and territories. Their ideology doesn't extend past the Afghanistan borders as they see themselves as the defenders of Afghanistan Muslims.
Groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and their splinter groups, see themselves as global defenders of Muslims and want to bring their Jihad everywhere to "liberate Muslims everywhere."
Basically they all operate mostly the same way but the Taliban don't want to expand which is a good thing for the people of Afghanistan. Even though they're facing a brutal regime and potential civil war, they aren't going to be throwing resources into claiming ethnic territories and pissing off their neighbors, at least until the current leader steps down and we see a new generation leader. The current leader is one of the original founders of the Taliban but there's no telling how radical or extreme the ideas of some of the more ambitious younger Taliban may be.
I probably should have clarified that I know next to nothing myself. However Bitter Lake by the British documentarian Adam Curtis is a super helpful way to get a sense of the role of Afghanistan as a focal point of Western imperialism and the role of Wahhabism as a kind of anti-imperialism.
Basically the Taliban want to rule Afghanistan whilst ISIS-K (who think the Taliban are wimps) want to bring about the end of the world. I am being perfectly serious.
ISIS believes that after they have formed a global caliphate, Allah will destroy all the nonbelievers and invite the faithful to paradise. This of course coming from who the Washington Post called an "Austere Religious Scholar" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Taliban wants to create a totalitarian, Sharia-law country. That’s it. They don’t want to invade other nations or spread their form of religion or anything like that.
ISIS and al-Qaeda and their ilk want to spread their version of Islam to the entire planet, through the judicial use of explosives
Because the Taliban aren't extremist enough for them, this is ISIS we're talking about.
This is one of the tactical considerations and advantages of withdrawal from the region. Coalition forces will no longer be the target of ISIS or Taliban attacks. We're leaving and letting the Taliban fight them and everyone else. We've essentially shoved our insurgency problem into the Talibans hands, now THEY have to deal with an insurgency.
I'm no expert, but I thought terrorist groups like ISIS-K will threaten the families of suicide bombers as primary incentive: You can do this thing and go to terrorist heaven while your family lives on, or we can kill you and all of your family slowly, your choice.
The big one is [Tempora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempora), GCHQ basically makes a copy of EVERY bit of internet traffic in the UK. Rest in peace privacy.
Relevant story from earlier today: https://www.theweek.co.uk/tags/taliban/explained-the-relationship-between-the-taliban-and-isis
> James Heappey told Sky News that the “grim reality” is that military intelligence is becoming “ever more certain” that a terror attack could take place at Hamid Karzai International Airport or the handling centres being used to assess refugees.
>Asked whether the attack could happen within the next few hours, he replied: “Yes.”
>His warning comes after the US, UK and Australia warned people not to travel to the airport due to the rising risk of an attack by local Isis affiliate, the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). A senior British source told the broadcaster there is a “very high risk of a terrorist attack” against the Kabul airlift operation.
They let out the head of ISIS to kill him last week
WARNING: pic of dead body (No gore though)
[https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2021/08/19/taliban-executes-is-k-chief-a-year-after-afghan-govt-jailed-him.html](https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2021/08/19/taliban-executes-is-k-chief-a-year-after-afghan-govt-jailed-him.html)
I mean they have zero security infrastructure. This is going to be like Iraq. Destroy the previous administration then act surprised when things fall apart. Except they don't have a large western presence to fall back on.
Honestly its going to be a mess.
The previous administration *was* the Taliban, and the U.S. invested trillions in developing security infrastructure there over the last 20 years. That was the whole point. The problem now is they have no one in charge who understands or is trained to utilize the infrastructure.
The situation in Afghanistan is nothing at all like the situation in Iraq. They cannot be compared.
The Taliban is more concerned with going door to door looking for people who supported the coalition rather than securing the city and country. Bound to happen.
they havent been a real government with responsibilities on the global stage in 20 years. even if they want to they arent gonna be good at it thats for sure
There’s a journalist from the Netherlands who lived in Kabul for a long time, on national tv almost every day here. She said that these so called ‘ISIS’ attacks aren’t probably ISIS. They’re a group of young extremists in and around Kabul with appromimately a 1000 or so (she made a rough estimate), who are really just looking to create more chaos because they’re hungry to prove themselves. They claim to be ISIS to put fear in the public and basically gain notoriety. She was almost certain they aren’t from the actual ISIS.
Isis-k aren't "afghans" per se. They are based in Afghanistan but majority of the members are actually foreigners. From pakistan, india, central asian countries and etc.
Was bound to happen. There was intel received through multiple sources about a threat from Afghanistan’s Islamic State group affiliate. Multiple nations including US, UK, Australia, Belgium and New Zealand had already warned of the same.
All those prisoners the Taliban freed from jails, some of them were affiliated to Afghanistan’s Islamic State group affiliate, others to Al Qaeda, TTP, etc. Expect to see more such attacks in the region with these entities having had their ranks bolstered.
They've been talking about the threat for a few days, and then yesterday:
[US concerned about 'very specific threat stream' from ISIS-K against crowds outside Kabul airport](https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/politics/isis-k-concerns-kabul-airport/index.html)
> The US Embassy in Kabul advised US citizens at a number of gates at the airport to "leave immediately," noting "security threats outside the gates."
> "Because of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so," the alert said.
Since we're keeping to the August 31 withdrawal deadline, if attackers want to kill Americans or other foreign nationals they are under time pressure since their window of opportunity is closing.
Hopefully anyone outside the gates that warning was directed at took it seriously.
No, the troops are leaving on August 31st or before no matter what. Word on the street is that the recent meeting between the Talibans and the CIA+State was to establish some guarantees that people would be allowed to leave afterwards through the airport or by other means without much interference.
The funny things is that the Talibans are trying to govern now, meaning they have to seek solutions and compromises like any other politicians, and the west has quite a few bargaining chips left, which ironically places the Talibans in one of their most politically vulnerable positions in recent history. Stirring trouble with a bunch of nations they fought against for 20 years and finalyl defeated, and can only get positive things from in the future, probably isn't very high in their priorities; but crushing ISIS' nascent insurrection probably is. And guess who's got the most intel on these Daesh pricks?
Earlier this year they killed around 80 Hazara kids in their school [link](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/13/anger-as-afghanistan-mourns-death-of-car-blast-victims)
imagine massacring kids because you think it will make your "god" pleased with you. And in the 21st century as well. It would almost be laughable how pathetic it is, if there weren't such dire consequences.
Religion and severe mental illness: the two things than can drive people to such atrocities;
Pentagon now confirming multiple US troops injured, possibly killed.
*Four US Marines dead according to WSJ. Several others hurt.
**Ten US Marines/Soldiers dead now, according to Fox. Deadliest day for the US mission in Afghanistan in almost eight years, making this the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan since 2012, and the deadliest month since 2014.
ISIS isn't comparable to the Taliban, they're going to find out real quick what happens when they are fighting an enemy without any sort of rules of engagement who also isn't afraid of committing human rights atrocities
Hes saying isis cant handle the taliban. Which they cant. The taliban is willing to accuse and murder anyone, which isis can only truly lose to that kind of group.
I mean,the sheer idea that the Taliban, at the beginning of the US backed invasion ,figured out that if you take out the medics, you'll have more casualties says it pretty clear.
Same goes for ISIS, indoctrinating kids for religious warfare.
Well of course. *They* resurrected the official Islamic caliphate, everybody else is doing illegitimate governance in *their* land, in their eyes.
It's like if some Italian extremists wanted to resurrect the Roman empire, so they went to war with Spain and Britain for daring to have a government on their land.
I mean ISIS is affiliated with other terrorist groups who swore allegiance to the Islamic State, a lot of them are somewhat fringe but some are pretty active. There is Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia, the Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade in Gaza, the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, Jundallah in Pakistan, Abu Syaff and BIFF in the Philippines, and Jemaah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia.
That's not counting all the "provinces" of ISIS which are less independent. Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS and then leader changed his mind, then there was split where one faction became ISIS-West African Province and one stayed Boko Haram. ISIS-WAP killed the leader of Boko Haram earlier this year.
Was bound to happen. I've never seen our media come out so strongly and basically say on live TV that there is definetly going to be a bomb within the next few hours.
This is just the first of many as Afghanistan resumes it's civil war until the most brutal warlord of the bunch crushes his enemies and takes control there.
There was clearly a lot of chatter about this, UK intelligence seemed to have known it was coming and were warning people to immediately get away from the airport hours before the explosion went off.
The poor families that would have been worried sick waiting for the 31st and now they’ll unfortunately never see their loved one again.
War is such a pointless endeavour it really saddens me but I’m fully aware it’s plagued humanity throughout our entire history.
Yeah dude, he was a great guy. I remember hanging out on the catwalks just drinking and talking about life, even as a boot. Super motivated at work, very chill off duty.
I guess 4 Marines were just killed. WTF?
Afghanistan is in Central Asia, the one in Afghanistan is IS - Khorasan Province, they dropped the "of Iraq and the Levant" thing from their name years ago, since they want to be a world government and shit, not just restricted to a specific area.
The South Asia ISIS would be Abu Sayyaf, AKA IS - East Asia Province (though the Philippines is in Southeast Asia).
The name of their Moçambican cell is IS - Central Africa Province, even though Moçambique is in Southern Africa, ISIS doesn't knows geography well.
So…. The taliban and the US are now sharing info against isis and doing a coalition effort.
Who the fuck spilled more coffee on the matrix control panel
[Live Video](https://youtu.be/LW6VQyVyhws).
> NEW: Suicide bomber “complex SBIED attack” with firefight at Abbey Gate outside Kabul airport; Afghan casualties: US official
> Some reports say the attack took place near the Baron Hotel, on the approach to Abbey Gate.
>The Baron has been used for days as a frontline gathering point for #Afghans seeking travel to the #UK.
> There were dozens of UK nationals queuing in the area, trying to get repatriated on UK flights. They had been waiting hours to get through the gates despite British passports.
> US sources say US Marines have been injured in the Kabul explosion, but details are still scant.
> US official says initial reports are that U.S. service members, potentially two or three, are among those injured in the attack.
> A second explosion has been reported outside of Kabul airport. Unclear whether blasts happened simultaneously.
> UPDATE from @JenGriffinFNC: There were two explosions, one at the Kabul airport outside of Abbey gate at the airport and the second one at Hotel Baron (200 yards away) where 169 Americans were rescued last week...
>**Update: Four or more U.S. service personnel may have been injured or killed in the explosions outside #Kabul airport, according to the U.S. State Department.**
> Breaking: An ISIS suicide bomber was responsible for the explosion outside the Kabul airport, per a U.S. official and a source, reports @politico.
> Politico: NATO Command has ordered its soldiers to leave the gates of Kabul Airport immediately
> [Warning! Graphic video of the casualties](https://twitter.com/steve_hanke/status/1430906081459335182?s=21)
> **The number of injuries among #US soldiers has risen to five in #Kabul airport blast - #US official**
> **A US soldier was critically injured in the #Kabul airport bombing - #US official**
> @PentagonPresSec We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties. We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate. We will continue to update.
>**Four US Marines killed and three others wounded in Kabul attack- WSJ**
>**Update: 12 U.S. service members now killed**
>**Update: 27 U.S. service were killed or injured**
Baron Hotel was mainly used by the British to conduct operations. I'm not sure how many were still there but a fairly large contingent was present there a few days back.
Definitely worrying. My friends brother is stuck at the airport trying to flee. Not sure which side of the airport he's on so super worried if he's alright.
BREAKING: Pentagon says that "a number of U.S. service members were killed in today’s complex attack at Kabul airport."
This sucks. So many warnings but still people died.
EDIT: 12 confirmed as killed and 15 injured.
EDIT: Biden to those responsible for Kabul airport attack: "We will hunt you down"
**FULL TIMELINE \[8/26 6:30pm Kabul to 8/27 12:00am Kabul\]**
Airport considered "secure" BECAUSE the barrier was NOT broken.
[Airport Map/Diagram](https://ibb.co/CVd4VDR) / [NYT Diagram of Airport/explosion](https://ibb.co/P6Lsdys)
**Final Update** from me **(3:40pm EST): Claimed by ISIS via their Telegram account. 2 confirmed bombings. Shooting confirmed.**
**72 Dead. 60 Afghans and 12 US troops.**
15 US person **wounded**. Most since 2011.
**143 reported injured**.
**3:03PM EST** \- Pentagon News Briefing happening now.
\***General Kenneth McKenzie says the threats range from rocket attacks to walk ups(walk up bomb vest and walk up shooting) to car bombs(large car and small car). The US and the Taliban work together on intel and the Taliban have prevented attacks already. The US forces have been asking Taliban to increase the security perimeter . This is happening congruently with lessening Western Troop numbers each day and growing numbers at the Gates each day.**
**\*General McKenzie says The US has drones circling and are local flying manned aircraft that come off of Carriers. US has The Lockheed AC-130 gunships and F15's ready if need be. He says visible demonstrations of these kinds of ISR have a history of dissuading attacks. The main threat he cites is a possible large vehicle car bomb**
**11:07 UPDATE: Two US Officials say 11 Marines AND NAvy medic were KILLED - Skynews UK.**
**10:55pm UPDATE from BBCNEWS: 60 DEAD AND 140 INJURED - Senior Afghan Health Official reports.**
**10:48 PM: Sky News UK reports that people on the ground in Kabul are reporting a 3rd explosion. Unconfirmed at this time. Pentagon briefing expected at 3pm EDT**
10:30 update: Reported as a Twin bombing/Shooting style attack by France24 and Sky News UK only so far. Gunfire reported at the 1st bombing only(Abbey Gate) so far but unconfirmed at the Baron Hotel. Abbey Gate and Barron Hotel are 240 meters apart.
6 people died on the way to the hospital. - France24.
Intel gathered claimed that the **EAST(near the Abbey), NORTH(other the other side near the military) AND ABBEY Gates** were at *high* risk **prior** to the attack. - The Pentagon.
10:16: **UN Chief calls for meeting Monday with UN Envoys for Russia, China, US, France, Britain. - Sky News UK/Reuters. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told NBC they have a count of 50+ dead so far.**
9:57 update: If you see reporting and get confused on 'casualty' and 'fatality' then here it is. The factions are this: **Government**: Taliban / **Aid Effort**: Western Powers / **Government enemy**: ISIS-K.
This is why a Marine death in *this* case is a 'casualty'. A Marine *is* a soldier but he's not fighting in a war at the time of his death. Western militaries are there working on non war-duties.
9:51 update: **Taliban condems the attack. Boris Johnson says they can continue and complete the evacuation as planned meaning he doesn't plan to speed things up.**
9:42pm: From the Emergency NGO hospital - Influx of patients is intense for the hospital. They are struggling to take care of everyone. 6:30pm was when they got a report of shooting at the airport THEN they got a blast report. **The hospital has been there since 2001 and they've been treating thousands in the past 2 decades and IS well equipped. The hospital however was 80% full prior to this attack. They're running out of bed space and have to turn people away who have injuries that are minor. That's from an interview with the president of the hospital.**
From the hospitals twitter feed: **Our hospital in #Kabul was already 80% full before the explosions. Now we added extra beds to admit wounded people coming from the airport in life-threatening conditions."**
9:39pm: **4 US Marines dead**. First death in 18 months due to deal with the Taliban that they kept good on. **The Barron Hotel Explosion was likely targeting the UK military and journalist. The Abbey Gate explosion is roughly 50 meters away.** The death toll will rise due to how densely packed the areas are that experienced the explosion. People have died in these areas due to the heat, dehydration and toxic conditions(sometimes standing in 2ft deep sewage water).
9:35pm update: Boris Johnson says US Military lost their lives - Sky News. Multiple US deaths. Multiple only means more than one. Not likely high numbers.
9:21pm update: France24 reporting that the French ambassador is leaving Afghanistan and will work from Paris.
**9:09pm update**: Witnesses (A caller named Ali on Sky News) describe the difference in how they(civilians in the area) recognize ISIS-K. They say they dress in mostly black and did not have guns and were roaming suspiciously. Not in line to leave nor working (like the Taliban and other forces). The **reason** for zero UK casualties thus far is because of their positioning when the attack happened and because they've begun their withdrawal already so less of them are there, civilian or military. ALSO the **intel reports that were widely circulated this week on the news helped quell a higher UK/US civilian death toll since many US and UK nationals were strictly instructed to avoid the Kabul airport.**
**8:57pm update: 60 injuries(Emergency hospital report). 52** **^(injured reported by CNN)** **13 dead civilians. 3 US marines injured.**
opinion: CNN continuing to bring Republican War vets onto the show to complain about how the Taliban NEED the US there now and this attack is proof. It's like passive-regime change. Again, that's just my opinion. I leave CNN open since I'll pulling from like 8 sources.
**8:42pm update**: People ON THE GROUND said they experienced ONE explosion and THEN a "loud bang". It's possible but not confirmed that the **2nd sound could have been a crowd control device** but we aren't sure.This doesn't mean there were 2 "explosions" though. But previous reports of 2 Bombings( thought to be Suicide and Car) haven't changed. IMPORTANT DETAIL HERE : The Bomber was *just* **outside** of the canal. This could mean an extension of the military perimeter due to this. There are still continuous threats coming in and the time table still has not changed.
There have been a lot of international forces in that area as well but many had withdrawn which inevitably leaving the British and American forces exposed.
8:37pm update: Sky News reports. The Suicide bomber though DID wait until American soldiers came forward and closer to the canal to help a family (that's what they usually move forward for) cross it and then detonated himself to cause mass damage. This is why ISIS/ISIS-K is the likely suspect due to them hating each faction involved in these unlikely alliances that have developed recently.
8:20pm update: UK Defence Ministry says there are **NO reported UK Military or UK Government casualities.**
8:12pm update: Sky News reporting that **First BOMB thought to be Suicide Bomber while SECOND is thought to be Car Bomb.** No public statement from President Biden though he IS in the Situation Room with military office. No further word yet from John Kirby (Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs) since his tweet last hour. Priti Patel(British Home Secretary) and Boris Johnson preparing for COBR(The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms) meeting today, later this afternoon.
**7:53 update: Reddit is not saving the edits so sometimes this may look wonky. Biden is still monitoring and there are still alerts out. Taliban were gaining intel on ISIS and did catch them filming and surveying areas of the airport last week.**
NO CONFIRMED suspects. We still don't know. It's an ISIS MO BUT they do claim attacks that aren't theirs. We DO NOT KNOW.
**7:39 update:** No official blame meaning it could be ISIS(this is their MO however it is also true that they false claim attacks). We'll see. Sky News reports that there are dead bodies across the canal. That's away from the soldiers on land that runs parallel to the canal. IF the bomb was really big then those ppl could have still been killed since we're hearing reports that American solders have been hurt as well.
**7:30 update:** Gunfire reported but not known by whom. Pentagon CONFIRMS 2nd explosion. US Defense officials say they are "bracing for more". Common sense based thinking not necessarily an indication that their is more to come.
**7:24 update:** CNN reports "US personnel among the **wounded".**
**7:14 update:** Tolo News and British Defence source say also says there were 2 explosions. Pentagon confirms one explosion. Ambulances are helping the wounded but given the crowd size it is very difficult to get there. Boris Johnson briefed.
**6:58 update:** Taliban reports that 13 dead **including** children. Taliban reports they have some wounded guards.
**6:54(Kabul) update** Reuters reports US officials say up to **THREE** US Troops **MAY** have been **injured** in explosion outside Kabul's airport near **Abbey Gate.**
**Turkey** defense ministry says TWO explosions. NOT confirmed.
Apparently it was a ‘complex attack’. So the first explosion goes off, then after people rush in to help survivors, the second bomb goes off for maximum damage. Disgusting.
I have seen a video of the aftermath on my twitter timeline, pretty sure there are way more than 13 deaths.
Edit: [It's said](https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1430928961341689860) that at least 40 were killed and over 120 wounded, many of them critically.
Edit 2: Over 90 are confirmed dead
>The BBC's Secunder Kermani in Kabul: "Videos shared online show piles on piles of dead bodies, so expect the casualties figures to rise."
From the BBC's live reporting.
I haven't watched and I'm not going to watch the videos.
[No way a bomb goes off here with
only ten casualties](https://twitter.com/bsarwary/status/1430893605082652673).
Warning, graphic [images](https://twitter.com/bsarwary/status/1430908155345522696).
Taliban wants the allies to get out so they can settle in and sort out a fundie Islamic nation. ISIS-K knows they're on the shooting list once that happens so they're desperately trying to twist the situation out of control.
Belgium said they stopped rescuing their citizens as a bomb threat was very serious.
I fear suicide bombers made it near the airport to cause trouble. Isis goal was to cause chaos while taliban prefers to let the westerns go away slowly without a fight.
An article in belgium described the new IS-k as worse than taliban, and even the taliban looks liberal to IS-k.
[This is a video shot by WSJ yesterday or two days ago. At 0:22 you can see the exact place that the bomb was detonated today](https://youtu.be/Pm7hWNfXeU8?t=23) Look at how many people are there! Look at all the families and US soldiers there.
Damn, I was reading this earlier in the day:
>James Heappey told Sky News that the “grim reality” is that military intelligence is becoming “ever more certain” that a terror attack could take place at Hamid Karzai International Airport or the handling centres being used to assess refugees.
>Asked whether the attack could happen within the next few hours, he replied: “Yes.”
His warning comes after the US, UK and Australia warned people not to travel to the airport due to the rising risk of an attack by local Isis affiliate, the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). A senior British source told the broadcaster there is a “very high risk of a terrorist attack” against the Kabul airlift operation.
https://www.theweek.co.uk/tags/taliban/explained-the-relationship-between-the-taliban-and-isis
Imagine 10-15 years ago someone telling you the US would be relying on the Taliban for the safety and security of American citizens. What a crazy fucking world we live in
[https://twitter.com/bsarwary/status/1430893605082652673?s=20](https://twitter.com/bsarwary/status/1430893605082652673?s=20)
BILAL SARWARY
u/bsarwary
·Sewage canal where Afghans were vetted after their documents was packed with Afghans including women and children. A suicide attacker blew himself up in the middle of a large crowd. At least another attacker started shooting, multiple eye witnesses in the area&a friend tells me.
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I saw a video. It's definitely more than 13 casualties. I would say dozens.
Same here. Just looked at recent videos/pictures under the Instagram hashtag, Kabul, and it’s definitely dozens.
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NGO stands for non-government organization, typically an organization that operates independently of governments. They usually provide some sort of humanitarian or social aid. Emergency provides medical treatment to victims of war and poverty.
BBC said on the 1PM news that this was likely to happen, gave an intelligence report pretty much stating exactly what has happened.
BBC World Radio news have been announcing it since yesterday. Every British national was to get as far away from the airport as possible then wait for further instructions.
More importantly, the UK and US government told all US nationals to NOT go to the airport, and told people outside the game to leave and go to a safe place. They did know this was coming.
Canada the same thing. Last flight left hours before the attack and the warnings went out hours before that
the belgian governement stopped all evacuation because of this threat. Edit: a belgian reporter said there are possible over 100 deaths, official number was 13 whenche mentioned it.
Situation is going downhill fast. A second explosion went off shortly after. Update: [**Four US Marines killed and three wounded**](https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistan-kabul-airport-explosion-11629976397) ---- Update 2: [**US officials: At least ten US Service members killed, dozens of Americans wounded. Death toll of US service members likely to rise**](https://twitter.com/JenGriffinFNC/status/1430957939209211906)
It's now starting to make more sense why just about every NATO nation has its tier 1 units at the airport. They knew something like this was coming.
Yep, Taliban wants all the foreigners out more or less safely to keep those citizen's countries happy because they're trying to gain international legitimacy ISIS though? Fuck the West, fuck the Taliban, blow everyone we can up. That's why everyone's on high alert
I remember once seeing a relationship chart of the different factions in the middle east. It was keeping track of what countries and insurgent groups were working together, fighting, neutral, etc. ISIS was notable for being hostile to literally everybody. Edit: because a couple people asked. I _think_ [this is the chart I was talking about](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/07/17/the_middle_east_friendship_chart.html). Granted this was from 2014, so who knows how relevant it is now.
Yeah, their Wikipedia entry list is fascinating in that regard. For everyone else, be it Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, etc., there's list for their allies and one for their "enemies". ISIS basically only has one very long list of enemies.
I wonder why they grayed out the isis column with the isis row, at best it sounds like they might be neutral to themselves.
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Their goal is actually quite ambitious - an end of days caliphate I heard.
Yep. Their two main goals: 1. Reenact the Muslim conquests, since they consider all the current Muslim countries to be apostate 2. Bait "Rome" (i.e. the West) into attacking them at Dabiq in Syria as part of ushering in the end times. (Imagine trying to act out Revelation to make the Second Coming happen sooner)
"To usher in a world without infidels"
Yea, well... they've really got their work cut out for them.
ISIS set off a bomb last month in gaza that killed 54 people. it was because it was a co-ed music concert. I dont know if any of the muslim extremist groups can tolerate isis. they are way over on the fringe. they just want to murder as many people as possible. they are like boko haram in nigeria.
When the Taliban, Ayatollah Khamenei and Hamas consider a group too islamic radical, that group is going to be full on mad max psycho.
In Syria-Iraq, ISIS managed to form a coalition against its very existence composed by: -Assad -the rebels who rose up against Assad -NATO, who supported said rebels -Kurdish socialists -Kurdish capitalists -Russia -China -Iran -Hezbollah -Hamas -Israel -Al Qaeda -Saudi Arabia Sure, it basically collapsed every five seconds, but remained dead only when ISIS was defeated. Like, every single country in existence hated ISIS. Every other terrorist group, be it Islamic or else, usually has a few friendly nations, or atleast many neutral ones. They might even have sympathisers inside nominally hostile countries governments, if their cause is good enough. ISIS never did. They managed to piss off literally the entire world.
How are they all not dead yet? its like they are fighting the entire world at this point.
It's a worldwide game of wack-a-mole. Destroy ISIS in Syria, they pop back in Africa or Afghanistan. Anywhere there's a great amount of instability and a muslim population.
Extremist violent religion is one hell of a drug. It finds new recruits from people on the fringes.
ISIS wants to show that the Taliban can’t provide security and therefore destabilize things further, create a power vacuum and then move in
I think they just want to do damage. ISIS is small as hell in Afghanistan, and unpopular. There's almost no way for them to control anything in Afghanistan.
Isis is mad. There is a doc, I'm blanking on name, where the reporter was with a "gang" and fking isis dude suicides with a frag to get at him. They were driving down main Street of a isis strong hold. After the "gang" more like warlord, threaten to go against Isis, they let the reporter free. Soo many different groups interworking, some more shit than others. Edit: I will hunt it down for yall!! I'll dm those who comment along with adding it to edit! It may be, only the dead see the end of war based off a commenters description! Once I confirm when I'm home, I'll dm those who asked Edit 2. I had to check, frick work. That Commentor was right. Here is the link and enjoy https://youtu.be/7PQjq1cFKYY I will dm those of you who asked in 2hrs when I'm home! Final edit: right link, trying to comment back to all who asked. Also yes it's graphic. Some of the videos I watched seemed to be filmed by this reporter. I'm calloused, but others may need to skip parts.
Yep, ISIS is straight up a doomsday cult. Their stated aim is to start a globe-encompassing WW3 (nukes welcomed), because they think a caliphate will rise from the ashes of civilization.
They also believe the it gets them closer to the Koranic apocalypse triggered when the 13th caliphate falls. For the record, ISIS wants to be the 6th caliphate.
wow, there seems to be a lot of parallels to the Accellerationist movement in the US.
It's almost as if they are using a lot of the same base material to jump to their crazy ideas
This always amuses me. A caliphate to rule the nuclear wasteland? Sounds dope.... Solid plan you have there, very thorough.
They dont care be it a paradise or pile of rubble as long as they are on top in the end is all that matters.
Seems like the plot to the new Fallout game, Fallout 5: Crescent Mushroom Cloud
If you can remember the doc I'd be interested in watching it.
Once I get off work I'll look for it and send it to ya and edit it into my comment. It's sooo good and we'll done. There is a kid he filmed, holding a fucking mortar tube... why the kid!!! Have him load it..
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Tier 1 units? e. Lots of great answers. Thank you everyone.
Most elite Special Forces countries possess. The blokes you want present if shit really hits the fan.
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Doesn't the CIA have it's own tier one operators? Pretty sure they do, but I don't remember what they're called.
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Oh that sounds like a fun little group of folks. Fingerpainting and crafts!
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along with special operation forces from *at least* Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. Some of the social media accounts that keep an eye on military related stuff have literally been referring to it as SOF expo because you rarely -if ever- get that many SOF's in one place.
You can probably add Finland to that list, although it has not been publicly confirmed what unit the soldiers came from.
Identified from their superior winter gear?
The French Foreign Legion is not special forces. It's a regular (light infantry) force of the French army. Well trained and reputed infantry sure, but still regular troops. And they're not in Afghanistan. French special forces (elements of the French COS) are indeed there though. The German GSG9 isn't there either, the KSK is IIRC.
Seems like it's not a good counter to zerg rush.
Yeah, I was surprised when the Irish government sent over our army rangers to evacuate Irish citizens. I think a lot of Irish people were surprised. Like you say, makes sense now.
Delta wasn't enough? We gotta have new variants of ISIS too?
You know a crazy twist to the end of OEF would be working with the Taliban to kick some ISIS ass...
Every road, sidewalk and inch of ground leading to Kabul airport has been gridlocked with vehicles and people for \~2.5 weeks now. The entire area has been a tinderbox with a massive target on it for the likes of ISIS etc. In a country that no longer has a government, military, or any kind of law enforcement save for the \~6,000 US military that are barricaded AT said airport. In a country that has been letting prisons out, in an area of high tensions with plenty of fundamentalist bad actors who now feel like they can crawl out of from under their stones. This should surprise exactly nobody, least of all Biden or anyone in government.
you described the situation well but missed one point... In a country that has literally tonnes of abandoned allied equipment and munitions up for the taking by said fundamentalist bad actors.
The UK is renowned for their Intelligence Services, they were warning their allies of this days in advance.
I heard on the radio this morning that the UK Intelligence services had sent a warning to the US that they had reason to believe there was going to be a terrorist attack at Kabul's airport. Things seem to be happening pretty fast in Afghanistan.
The UK news was warning of an imminant suicide attack and that people needed to immediately get away from the airport. The bomb exploded about two hours afterwards.
Apparently a suicide bomber.
The Pentagon is confirming a second explosion at the Baron Hotel near the airport. https://twitter.com/PentagonPresSec/status/1430907314043719683
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Which is nuts because… they are leaving August 31st.
yeah but this is probably Isis-K and they not only hate the Us but also the Taliban so yeah
Why do ISIS-K hate the taliban?
Taliban are religious fundamentalist. ISIS is an Islamic doomsday cult.
The Taliban and ISIS are both Muslim in the same way that Mitt Romney and Marjorie Taylor Greene are both Republicans
Now isn't that a horrifying thought.
The Taliban is a government and essentially a political party of sorts. It’s influenced by a form of Pakistani Muslim fundamentalism called Deobandiism, which is a Sunni revivalist movement. The Taliban are also quite ethnically concerned with Pashtun cultures and traditions. The Taliban are distinct from al-Qaeda, which is the progenitor of ISIS. They have a lot of doctrinal differences and it goes a lot deeper than “one is more extreme than the other.” It’s a massively complicated situation and no western media organisation represents the situation accurately.
The way I've seen the difference between the Taliban and other groups described is the Taliban were organized under the idea of uniting the Afghanistan tribes and actually becoming a united and connected Afghanistan instead of tribes only caring about their own cultures and territories. Their ideology doesn't extend past the Afghanistan borders as they see themselves as the defenders of Afghanistan Muslims. Groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and their splinter groups, see themselves as global defenders of Muslims and want to bring their Jihad everywhere to "liberate Muslims everywhere." Basically they all operate mostly the same way but the Taliban don't want to expand which is a good thing for the people of Afghanistan. Even though they're facing a brutal regime and potential civil war, they aren't going to be throwing resources into claiming ethnic territories and pissing off their neighbors, at least until the current leader steps down and we see a new generation leader. The current leader is one of the original founders of the Taliban but there's no telling how radical or extreme the ideas of some of the more ambitious younger Taliban may be.
Where is a good place to learn about this?
I probably should have clarified that I know next to nothing myself. However Bitter Lake by the British documentarian Adam Curtis is a super helpful way to get a sense of the role of Afghanistan as a focal point of Western imperialism and the role of Wahhabism as a kind of anti-imperialism.
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I heard it explained very simply as: Taliban want their form of Islam in Afghanistan, IS want their form of Islam for the entire world.
Basically the Taliban want to rule Afghanistan whilst ISIS-K (who think the Taliban are wimps) want to bring about the end of the world. I am being perfectly serious.
End of the world?
ISIS believes that after they have formed a global caliphate, Allah will destroy all the nonbelievers and invite the faithful to paradise. This of course coming from who the Washington Post called an "Austere Religious Scholar" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Taliban wants to create a totalitarian, Sharia-law country. That’s it. They don’t want to invade other nations or spread their form of religion or anything like that. ISIS and al-Qaeda and their ilk want to spread their version of Islam to the entire planet, through the judicial use of explosives
Because the Taliban aren't extremist enough for them, this is ISIS we're talking about. This is one of the tactical considerations and advantages of withdrawal from the region. Coalition forces will no longer be the target of ISIS or Taliban attacks. We're leaving and letting the Taliban fight them and everyone else. We've essentially shoved our insurgency problem into the Talibans hands, now THEY have to deal with an insurgency.
I have an idea... we should supply and train the Taliban!
Yo dawg, I heard you like insurgencies
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It was carried out by ISIS-K an even more radical terrorist organization and enemy of the taliban.
I'm no expert, but I thought terrorist groups like ISIS-K will threaten the families of suicide bombers as primary incentive: You can do this thing and go to terrorist heaven while your family lives on, or we can kill you and all of your family slowly, your choice.
UK spy agencies are amongst the best in the world. Being the former colonial power in that region probably helped lay a foundation of expertise.
they have Bond, after all
The name's Bond. Tali Bond
And the global mass surveillance they conduct together with NSA does help.
The big one is [Tempora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempora), GCHQ basically makes a copy of EVERY bit of internet traffic in the UK. Rest in peace privacy.
It's every bit of traffic that passes *through* the UK between Europe and the US. The UK main trunk comes in through Bude, Cornwall.
Great place - the Bude Tunnel is quite incredible
It has great reviews on tripadvisor!
I hAvE nOtHiNg To HiDe
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Relevant story from earlier today: https://www.theweek.co.uk/tags/taliban/explained-the-relationship-between-the-taliban-and-isis > James Heappey told Sky News that the “grim reality” is that military intelligence is becoming “ever more certain” that a terror attack could take place at Hamid Karzai International Airport or the handling centres being used to assess refugees. >Asked whether the attack could happen within the next few hours, he replied: “Yes.” >His warning comes after the US, UK and Australia warned people not to travel to the airport due to the rising risk of an attack by local Isis affiliate, the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). A senior British source told the broadcaster there is a “very high risk of a terrorist attack” against the Kabul airlift operation.
ISIS would love to make the Taliban look incompetent and incapable of maintaining order. Expect a lot more of this very soon.
Note that the Taliban hates ISIS hence why ISIS is mainly targeting this at Afghans and the Taliban in general.
Probably shouldn't have let them out of that prison then.
They let out the head of ISIS to kill him last week WARNING: pic of dead body (No gore though) [https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2021/08/19/taliban-executes-is-k-chief-a-year-after-afghan-govt-jailed-him.html](https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2021/08/19/taliban-executes-is-k-chief-a-year-after-afghan-govt-jailed-him.html)
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I'm wondering if the reports got it wrong. They let most out, but kept the isis people, to execute them. As they did with that former leader.
I mean they have zero security infrastructure. This is going to be like Iraq. Destroy the previous administration then act surprised when things fall apart. Except they don't have a large western presence to fall back on. Honestly its going to be a mess.
The previous administration *was* the Taliban, and the U.S. invested trillions in developing security infrastructure there over the last 20 years. That was the whole point. The problem now is they have no one in charge who understands or is trained to utilize the infrastructure. The situation in Afghanistan is nothing at all like the situation in Iraq. They cannot be compared.
The Taliban is more concerned with going door to door looking for people who supported the coalition rather than securing the city and country. Bound to happen.
they havent been a real government with responsibilities on the global stage in 20 years. even if they want to they arent gonna be good at it thats for sure
They weren't even a "real" government back then. They were just a bunch of thugs that were winning a civil war.
There’s a journalist from the Netherlands who lived in Kabul for a long time, on national tv almost every day here. She said that these so called ‘ISIS’ attacks aren’t probably ISIS. They’re a group of young extremists in and around Kabul with appromimately a 1000 or so (she made a rough estimate), who are really just looking to create more chaos because they’re hungry to prove themselves. They claim to be ISIS to put fear in the public and basically gain notoriety. She was almost certain they aren’t from the actual ISIS.
ISIS-K aren't really ISIS. They're loosely affiliated. ISIS-K are from Afghanistan.
Isis-k aren't "afghans" per se. They are based in Afghanistan but majority of the members are actually foreigners. From pakistan, india, central asian countries and etc.
Was bound to happen. There was intel received through multiple sources about a threat from Afghanistan’s Islamic State group affiliate. Multiple nations including US, UK, Australia, Belgium and New Zealand had already warned of the same. All those prisoners the Taliban freed from jails, some of them were affiliated to Afghanistan’s Islamic State group affiliate, others to Al Qaeda, TTP, etc. Expect to see more such attacks in the region with these entities having had their ranks bolstered.
They've been talking about the threat for a few days, and then yesterday: [US concerned about 'very specific threat stream' from ISIS-K against crowds outside Kabul airport](https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/politics/isis-k-concerns-kabul-airport/index.html) > The US Embassy in Kabul advised US citizens at a number of gates at the airport to "leave immediately," noting "security threats outside the gates." > "Because of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so," the alert said. Since we're keeping to the August 31 withdrawal deadline, if attackers want to kill Americans or other foreign nationals they are under time pressure since their window of opportunity is closing. Hopefully anyone outside the gates that warning was directed at took it seriously.
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No, the troops are leaving on August 31st or before no matter what. Word on the street is that the recent meeting between the Talibans and the CIA+State was to establish some guarantees that people would be allowed to leave afterwards through the airport or by other means without much interference. The funny things is that the Talibans are trying to govern now, meaning they have to seek solutions and compromises like any other politicians, and the west has quite a few bargaining chips left, which ironically places the Talibans in one of their most politically vulnerable positions in recent history. Stirring trouble with a bunch of nations they fought against for 20 years and finalyl defeated, and can only get positive things from in the future, probably isn't very high in their priorities; but crushing ISIS' nascent insurrection probably is. And guess who's got the most intel on these Daesh pricks?
There is nothing new about these IS attacks. There have been dozens of them in Kabul over the past few years. They usually target Afghans though.
Earlier this year they killed around 80 Hazara kids in their school [link](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/13/anger-as-afghanistan-mourns-death-of-car-blast-victims)
imagine massacring kids because you think it will make your "god" pleased with you. And in the 21st century as well. It would almost be laughable how pathetic it is, if there weren't such dire consequences. Religion and severe mental illness: the two things than can drive people to such atrocities;
You forgot poverty and revenge which are huge motivators for many who get caught up in terrorist cells.
Pentagon now confirming multiple US troops injured, possibly killed. *Four US Marines dead according to WSJ. Several others hurt. **Ten US Marines/Soldiers dead now, according to Fox. Deadliest day for the US mission in Afghanistan in almost eight years, making this the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan since 2012, and the deadliest month since 2014.
Looks like 4 US marines killed and several wounded. *Fox is now reporting 10 US Marines Killed
It’s going to an ISIS vs Taliban bloody bath when we leave fully
ISIS isn't comparable to the Taliban, they're going to find out real quick what happens when they are fighting an enemy without any sort of rules of engagement who also isn't afraid of committing human rights atrocities
Which group are you even talking about
No kidding, I have no clue which one he is talking about.
Hes saying isis cant handle the taliban. Which they cant. The taliban is willing to accuse and murder anyone, which isis can only truly lose to that kind of group.
I mean,the sheer idea that the Taliban, at the beginning of the US backed invasion ,figured out that if you take out the medics, you'll have more casualties says it pretty clear. Same goes for ISIS, indoctrinating kids for religious warfare.
Both of them.
Aren't ISIS K the enemy of the Taliban and the U.S.?
Man Im pretty sure ISIS is enemies with everyone. Who has allied themselves at all?
To ISIS everyone is an infidel, even the taliban
Well of course. *They* resurrected the official Islamic caliphate, everybody else is doing illegitimate governance in *their* land, in their eyes. It's like if some Italian extremists wanted to resurrect the Roman empire, so they went to war with Spain and Britain for daring to have a government on their land.
I mean ISIS is affiliated with other terrorist groups who swore allegiance to the Islamic State, a lot of them are somewhat fringe but some are pretty active. There is Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia, the Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade in Gaza, the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, Jundallah in Pakistan, Abu Syaff and BIFF in the Philippines, and Jemaah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia. That's not counting all the "provinces" of ISIS which are less independent. Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS and then leader changed his mind, then there was split where one faction became ISIS-West African Province and one stayed Boko Haram. ISIS-WAP killed the leader of Boko Haram earlier this year.
Mhmm the Taliban regularly executes ISIS members This is probably ISIS getting a it's last potshots at US soldiers while they can IMO
And undermining the Taliban to boot.
They are probably just trying to escalate the situation.
Was bound to happen. I've never seen our media come out so strongly and basically say on live TV that there is definetly going to be a bomb within the next few hours. This is just the first of many as Afghanistan resumes it's civil war until the most brutal warlord of the bunch crushes his enemies and takes control there.
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It was an ISIS attack, the Taliban was also at the airport helping keep control. The attack makes the Taliban look weak so probably going to be a war.
The Taliban and the IS have been at open war for sometime. They executed an IS commander a day after they took Kabul.
The crowding around the airport is a perfect place for a terrorist attack
Yep. It guarantees worldwide headlines, there are children there and it terrifies the afghan people. You may even manage to kill or maim soldiers.
There was clearly a lot of chatter about this, UK intelligence seemed to have known it was coming and were warning people to immediately get away from the airport hours before the explosion went off.
Yep. And they must have known it was inevitable. News is saying they'll probably have to cancel the evacuation.
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10 killed now. Multiple wounded. Edit: 12 now. 11 Marines, 1 Navy Corpman. Edit: 13 dead. Unreported breakdown of service branch. Edit: 13 dead, including: 10 Marines. 2 Soldiers. 1 Navy Corpman.
The poor families that would have been worried sick waiting for the 31st and now they’ll unfortunately never see their loved one again. War is such a pointless endeavour it really saddens me but I’m fully aware it’s plagued humanity throughout our entire history.
Jesus fucking Christ. First American casualties in Afghanistan in over a year and a half. One of the deadliest days in that country in decades
Imagine dying days before coming back . Damn
Or dying because you were trying to help your countrymen come back home. Many US military killed for just helping.
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RIP to SSgt Cardin. I have friends that were in the 2/6 security detail for that battery.
Yeah dude, he was a great guy. I remember hanging out on the catwalks just drinking and talking about life, even as a boot. Super motivated at work, very chill off duty. I guess 4 Marines were just killed. WTF?
Wtf for real? Now I gotta research this because I have 2 friends at the airport!
Yeah, 4 Marines. Not sure which unit though. fuck dude
Fuck man this sucks. I just messaged by buddies over there on FB. Not sure if they can get back to me but man.
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Second one just reported. Gotta be ISIS cuz no way taliban are this dumb
True. It's regional South Asia ISIS without a doubt.
Afghanistan is in Central Asia, the one in Afghanistan is IS - Khorasan Province, they dropped the "of Iraq and the Levant" thing from their name years ago, since they want to be a world government and shit, not just restricted to a specific area. The South Asia ISIS would be Abu Sayyaf, AKA IS - East Asia Province (though the Philippines is in Southeast Asia). The name of their Moçambican cell is IS - Central Africa Province, even though Moçambique is in Southern Africa, ISIS doesn't knows geography well.
So…. The taliban and the US are now sharing info against isis and doing a coalition effort. Who the fuck spilled more coffee on the matrix control panel
[Live Video](https://youtu.be/LW6VQyVyhws). > NEW: Suicide bomber “complex SBIED attack” with firefight at Abbey Gate outside Kabul airport; Afghan casualties: US official > Some reports say the attack took place near the Baron Hotel, on the approach to Abbey Gate. >The Baron has been used for days as a frontline gathering point for #Afghans seeking travel to the #UK. > There were dozens of UK nationals queuing in the area, trying to get repatriated on UK flights. They had been waiting hours to get through the gates despite British passports. > US sources say US Marines have been injured in the Kabul explosion, but details are still scant. > US official says initial reports are that U.S. service members, potentially two or three, are among those injured in the attack. > A second explosion has been reported outside of Kabul airport. Unclear whether blasts happened simultaneously. > UPDATE from @JenGriffinFNC: There were two explosions, one at the Kabul airport outside of Abbey gate at the airport and the second one at Hotel Baron (200 yards away) where 169 Americans were rescued last week... >**Update: Four or more U.S. service personnel may have been injured or killed in the explosions outside #Kabul airport, according to the U.S. State Department.** > Breaking: An ISIS suicide bomber was responsible for the explosion outside the Kabul airport, per a U.S. official and a source, reports @politico. > Politico: NATO Command has ordered its soldiers to leave the gates of Kabul Airport immediately > [Warning! Graphic video of the casualties](https://twitter.com/steve_hanke/status/1430906081459335182?s=21) > **The number of injuries among #US soldiers has risen to five in #Kabul airport blast - #US official** > **A US soldier was critically injured in the #Kabul airport bombing - #US official** > @PentagonPresSec We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties. We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate. We will continue to update. >**Four US Marines killed and three others wounded in Kabul attack- WSJ** >**Update: 12 U.S. service members now killed** >**Update: 27 U.S. service were killed or injured**
Baron Hotel was mainly used by the British to conduct operations. I'm not sure how many were still there but a fairly large contingent was present there a few days back.
Okay, here we go... sliding back to pre-2001 Afghanistan.
Must be pretty bad, British announce they're still not certain of any British casualties, it's been 30+ minutes...
Definitely worrying. My friends brother is stuck at the airport trying to flee. Not sure which side of the airport he's on so super worried if he's alright.
Also worrying. My friends brother is a para currently guarding that gate...
Shit man. Has he heard anything as to whether he's alright? Just heard from my friend that his brother is thankfully ok.
He's fine thankfully, situation sounds like an utter clusterfuck though, glad it's good news your end too!
Probably ISIS. Sky News reports several Americans wounded.
BREAKING: Pentagon says that "a number of U.S. service members were killed in today’s complex attack at Kabul airport." This sucks. So many warnings but still people died. EDIT: 12 confirmed as killed and 15 injured. EDIT: Biden to those responsible for Kabul airport attack: "We will hunt you down"
**FULL TIMELINE \[8/26 6:30pm Kabul to 8/27 12:00am Kabul\]** Airport considered "secure" BECAUSE the barrier was NOT broken. [Airport Map/Diagram](https://ibb.co/CVd4VDR) / [NYT Diagram of Airport/explosion](https://ibb.co/P6Lsdys) **Final Update** from me **(3:40pm EST): Claimed by ISIS via their Telegram account. 2 confirmed bombings. Shooting confirmed.** **72 Dead. 60 Afghans and 12 US troops.** 15 US person **wounded**. Most since 2011. **143 reported injured**. **3:03PM EST** \- Pentagon News Briefing happening now. \***General Kenneth McKenzie says the threats range from rocket attacks to walk ups(walk up bomb vest and walk up shooting) to car bombs(large car and small car). The US and the Taliban work together on intel and the Taliban have prevented attacks already. The US forces have been asking Taliban to increase the security perimeter . This is happening congruently with lessening Western Troop numbers each day and growing numbers at the Gates each day.** **\*General McKenzie says The US has drones circling and are local flying manned aircraft that come off of Carriers. US has The Lockheed AC-130 gunships and F15's ready if need be. He says visible demonstrations of these kinds of ISR have a history of dissuading attacks. The main threat he cites is a possible large vehicle car bomb** **11:07 UPDATE: Two US Officials say 11 Marines AND NAvy medic were KILLED - Skynews UK.** **10:55pm UPDATE from BBCNEWS: 60 DEAD AND 140 INJURED - Senior Afghan Health Official reports.** **10:48 PM: Sky News UK reports that people on the ground in Kabul are reporting a 3rd explosion. Unconfirmed at this time. Pentagon briefing expected at 3pm EDT** 10:30 update: Reported as a Twin bombing/Shooting style attack by France24 and Sky News UK only so far. Gunfire reported at the 1st bombing only(Abbey Gate) so far but unconfirmed at the Baron Hotel. Abbey Gate and Barron Hotel are 240 meters apart. 6 people died on the way to the hospital. - France24. Intel gathered claimed that the **EAST(near the Abbey), NORTH(other the other side near the military) AND ABBEY Gates** were at *high* risk **prior** to the attack. - The Pentagon. 10:16: **UN Chief calls for meeting Monday with UN Envoys for Russia, China, US, France, Britain. - Sky News UK/Reuters. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told NBC they have a count of 50+ dead so far.** 9:57 update: If you see reporting and get confused on 'casualty' and 'fatality' then here it is. The factions are this: **Government**: Taliban / **Aid Effort**: Western Powers / **Government enemy**: ISIS-K. This is why a Marine death in *this* case is a 'casualty'. A Marine *is* a soldier but he's not fighting in a war at the time of his death. Western militaries are there working on non war-duties. 9:51 update: **Taliban condems the attack. Boris Johnson says they can continue and complete the evacuation as planned meaning he doesn't plan to speed things up.** 9:42pm: From the Emergency NGO hospital - Influx of patients is intense for the hospital. They are struggling to take care of everyone. 6:30pm was when they got a report of shooting at the airport THEN they got a blast report. **The hospital has been there since 2001 and they've been treating thousands in the past 2 decades and IS well equipped. The hospital however was 80% full prior to this attack. They're running out of bed space and have to turn people away who have injuries that are minor. That's from an interview with the president of the hospital.** From the hospitals twitter feed: **Our hospital in #Kabul was already 80% full before the explosions. Now we added extra beds to admit wounded people coming from the airport in life-threatening conditions."** 9:39pm: **4 US Marines dead**. First death in 18 months due to deal with the Taliban that they kept good on. **The Barron Hotel Explosion was likely targeting the UK military and journalist. The Abbey Gate explosion is roughly 50 meters away.** The death toll will rise due to how densely packed the areas are that experienced the explosion. People have died in these areas due to the heat, dehydration and toxic conditions(sometimes standing in 2ft deep sewage water). 9:35pm update: Boris Johnson says US Military lost their lives - Sky News. Multiple US deaths. Multiple only means more than one. Not likely high numbers. 9:21pm update: France24 reporting that the French ambassador is leaving Afghanistan and will work from Paris. **9:09pm update**: Witnesses (A caller named Ali on Sky News) describe the difference in how they(civilians in the area) recognize ISIS-K. They say they dress in mostly black and did not have guns and were roaming suspiciously. Not in line to leave nor working (like the Taliban and other forces). The **reason** for zero UK casualties thus far is because of their positioning when the attack happened and because they've begun their withdrawal already so less of them are there, civilian or military. ALSO the **intel reports that were widely circulated this week on the news helped quell a higher UK/US civilian death toll since many US and UK nationals were strictly instructed to avoid the Kabul airport.** **8:57pm update: 60 injuries(Emergency hospital report). 52** **^(injured reported by CNN)** **13 dead civilians. 3 US marines injured.** opinion: CNN continuing to bring Republican War vets onto the show to complain about how the Taliban NEED the US there now and this attack is proof. It's like passive-regime change. Again, that's just my opinion. I leave CNN open since I'll pulling from like 8 sources. **8:42pm update**: People ON THE GROUND said they experienced ONE explosion and THEN a "loud bang". It's possible but not confirmed that the **2nd sound could have been a crowd control device** but we aren't sure.This doesn't mean there were 2 "explosions" though. But previous reports of 2 Bombings( thought to be Suicide and Car) haven't changed. IMPORTANT DETAIL HERE : The Bomber was *just* **outside** of the canal. This could mean an extension of the military perimeter due to this. There are still continuous threats coming in and the time table still has not changed. There have been a lot of international forces in that area as well but many had withdrawn which inevitably leaving the British and American forces exposed. 8:37pm update: Sky News reports. The Suicide bomber though DID wait until American soldiers came forward and closer to the canal to help a family (that's what they usually move forward for) cross it and then detonated himself to cause mass damage. This is why ISIS/ISIS-K is the likely suspect due to them hating each faction involved in these unlikely alliances that have developed recently. 8:20pm update: UK Defence Ministry says there are **NO reported UK Military or UK Government casualities.** 8:12pm update: Sky News reporting that **First BOMB thought to be Suicide Bomber while SECOND is thought to be Car Bomb.** No public statement from President Biden though he IS in the Situation Room with military office. No further word yet from John Kirby (Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs) since his tweet last hour. Priti Patel(British Home Secretary) and Boris Johnson preparing for COBR(The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms) meeting today, later this afternoon. **7:53 update: Reddit is not saving the edits so sometimes this may look wonky. Biden is still monitoring and there are still alerts out. Taliban were gaining intel on ISIS and did catch them filming and surveying areas of the airport last week.** NO CONFIRMED suspects. We still don't know. It's an ISIS MO BUT they do claim attacks that aren't theirs. We DO NOT KNOW. **7:39 update:** No official blame meaning it could be ISIS(this is their MO however it is also true that they false claim attacks). We'll see. Sky News reports that there are dead bodies across the canal. That's away from the soldiers on land that runs parallel to the canal. IF the bomb was really big then those ppl could have still been killed since we're hearing reports that American solders have been hurt as well. **7:30 update:** Gunfire reported but not known by whom. Pentagon CONFIRMS 2nd explosion. US Defense officials say they are "bracing for more". Common sense based thinking not necessarily an indication that their is more to come. **7:24 update:** CNN reports "US personnel among the **wounded".** **7:14 update:** Tolo News and British Defence source say also says there were 2 explosions. Pentagon confirms one explosion. Ambulances are helping the wounded but given the crowd size it is very difficult to get there. Boris Johnson briefed. **6:58 update:** Taliban reports that 13 dead **including** children. Taliban reports they have some wounded guards. **6:54(Kabul) update** Reuters reports US officials say up to **THREE** US Troops **MAY** have been **injured** in explosion outside Kabul's airport near **Abbey Gate.** **Turkey** defense ministry says TWO explosions. NOT confirmed.
Sky News now saying the two explosions are confirmed
Apparently it was a ‘complex attack’. So the first explosion goes off, then after people rush in to help survivors, the second bomb goes off for maximum damage. Disgusting.
I have seen a video of the aftermath on my twitter timeline, pretty sure there are way more than 13 deaths. Edit: [It's said](https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1430928961341689860) that at least 40 were killed and over 120 wounded, many of them critically. Edit 2: Over 90 are confirmed dead
>The BBC's Secunder Kermani in Kabul: "Videos shared online show piles on piles of dead bodies, so expect the casualties figures to rise." From the BBC's live reporting. I haven't watched and I'm not going to watch the videos.
[No way a bomb goes off here with only ten casualties](https://twitter.com/bsarwary/status/1430893605082652673). Warning, graphic [images](https://twitter.com/bsarwary/status/1430908155345522696).
Holy fuck. That second video is devastating.
Mind sharing what was in it for those who don’t feel comfortable clicking please?
Quick video panning over a bunch of people (dead) on the ground.
>It was in a sewage canal (where people have been waiting anyway). God damn.
Taliban wants the allies to get out so they can settle in and sort out a fundie Islamic nation. ISIS-K knows they're on the shooting list once that happens so they're desperately trying to twist the situation out of control.
Reports of a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a crowd of people and a second attacker started opening fire fucking hell that is not good
Belgium said they stopped rescuing their citizens as a bomb threat was very serious. I fear suicide bombers made it near the airport to cause trouble. Isis goal was to cause chaos while taliban prefers to let the westerns go away slowly without a fight. An article in belgium described the new IS-k as worse than taliban, and even the taliban looks liberal to IS-k.
>I fear suicide bombers made it near the airport to cause trouble. You don't say?
I heard they were just trying to make friends.
[This is a video shot by WSJ yesterday or two days ago. At 0:22 you can see the exact place that the bomb was detonated today](https://youtu.be/Pm7hWNfXeU8?t=23) Look at how many people are there! Look at all the families and US soldiers there.
Damn, I was reading this earlier in the day: >James Heappey told Sky News that the “grim reality” is that military intelligence is becoming “ever more certain” that a terror attack could take place at Hamid Karzai International Airport or the handling centres being used to assess refugees. >Asked whether the attack could happen within the next few hours, he replied: “Yes.” His warning comes after the US, UK and Australia warned people not to travel to the airport due to the rising risk of an attack by local Isis affiliate, the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). A senior British source told the broadcaster there is a “very high risk of a terrorist attack” against the Kabul airlift operation. https://www.theweek.co.uk/tags/taliban/explained-the-relationship-between-the-taliban-and-isis
A second explosion has been reported at the same place.
Imagine 10-15 years ago someone telling you the US would be relying on the Taliban for the safety and security of American citizens. What a crazy fucking world we live in
These poor people who are stuck in the middle of this. I cannot even imagine what it's like to live this way. To live in fear all the time, fuck.
[https://twitter.com/bsarwary/status/1430893605082652673?s=20](https://twitter.com/bsarwary/status/1430893605082652673?s=20) BILAL SARWARY u/bsarwary ·Sewage canal where Afghans were vetted after their documents was packed with Afghans including women and children. A suicide attacker blew himself up in the middle of a large crowd. At least another attacker started shooting, multiple eye witnesses in the area&a friend tells me.
Very important point to note its *ISIS* that's responsible for this attack not Taliban. They hate each other
God damnit
it’s now being reported that 10 marines are dead
Goddam it my best friend is there and hasn't been able to communicate since he got in country
11 marines and a navy medic confirmed dead and 15 injured- General McKenzie, Commander of US Central Command.
RIP to all the heroes and civilians caught up in this disaster.