Afghanistan Crisis Latest Updates

: Twin blasts rocked Kabul airport on Thursday killing several people including children. The US suspects ISIS could be behind the attack. Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesperson said the perpetrators will be strictly dealt with.

Thousands of people have been gathering outside the airport in recent days. Western troops are racing to evacuate foreigners and Afghans who helped Western countries during the 20-year war against the Taliban and to get out themselves by an August 31 deadline.

In an alert issued on August 25, the US Embassy in Kabul had advised citizens to avoid travelling to the airport and said those already at the gates should leave immediately, citing unspecified "security threats."

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the barbaric bomb attack at Kabul airport has caused many casualties, but that the UK evacuation operation in Afghanistan will continue for a bit longer.

The US says several Marines were among those killed in the twin blasts outside Kabul airport.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned the terrorist attack at the Kabul airport and said the incident "underscores the volatility" of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan and "strengthens our resolve as the world body continues to deliver urgent assistance across the country in support of the Afghan people.

Taliban strongly condemns the bomb blast at the Kabul airport and the perpetrators will be strictly dealt with, said a Taliban Spokesperson

Members of minority communities who have taken refuge in Kabul's Karte Parwan gurudwara are "safe", DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa claimed on Thursday following two suicide bombings outside the airport there.

Britain's defence ministry said none of its military or government staff in Kabul were amongst the casualties from explosions near the city's airport. "There have been no reported UK military or UK Government casualties following the incidents in Kabul," the Ministry of Defence said. "UK forces are working closely with our partners to provide security and medical assistance.

US officials strongly believe the ISIS-Khorasan group was behind the attack on Thursday at Kabul's airport, a source familiar with congressional briefings on Afghanistan said. The attack has "all the hallmarks" of an ISIS-K attack. he added

NATO chief has condemned the twin suicide bombings at the Kabul airport as a horrific terrorist attack" that targeted desperate Afghans trying to leave the country and the alliance's efforts to evacuate them from Afghanistan.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the situation has seriously deteriorated near the Kabul airport after several explosions happened in the last hours. He added France will seek to protect and evacuate French nationals, people from allied countries and Afghans as long as the conditions will be met at the airport.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said one blast occurred near the airport's Abbey Gate and the other close to the nearby Baron Hotel.

There were at least two explosions near Kabul's airport amid a huge evacuation effort from Afghanistan, the Pentagon said, with civilians and US service members among the casualties.

A Taliban official said at least 13 people were killed in the blast, including children, and many Taliban guards were wounded.