Twin suicide bombings outside Hamid Karzai International Airport and the Baron Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed at least 90 people, including 13 U.S. service members, and wounded another 150 people on Thursday, according to reports. Warning: Graphic photos and video below.
**Follow all of the events on the Breitbart News Live Wire below. All times in eastern.**
10:30 P.M. — Reuters reports: “The evacuation of civilians from Kabul has been accelerated after attacks near the airport, a Western security official stationed at the airport.”
10:01 P.M. — Vice President Kamala Harris issues statement on Kabul terror attacks:
9:53 P.M. — Journalists were blocked from Vice President Kamala Harris’ remarks to U.S. service members at Pearl Harbor following the ISIS-claimed terror attack outside Kabul airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members, according to a report.
Per the Washington Examiner:
Media access to Vice President Kamala Harris’s address to U.S. troops at Pearl Harbor was suddenly pulled on Thursday.
No explanation was given, according to the White House press pool, but the move comes hours after two explosions outside of the airport in Kabul killed 13 U.S. service members and 60 Afghans during evacuations.
“The VP’s staff informed the pool during the flight that her event with troops at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam would now be closed press. No explanation given by the VP’s team for why it has been changed to closed press when asked by a member of the pool,” the dispatch said.
9:28 P.M. — In new video, former President Donald Trump offers condolences to the families of U.S. service member who died in the Kabul terror attack.
8:37 P.M. — Obama Defense Secretary Leon Panetta tells CNN that “We’re probably going to have to go back in” to Afghanistan to get ISIS.
8:36 P.M. — Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) says he formally requested Biden’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment.
7:35 P.M. —
7:25 P.M. — 105,700 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the end of July, according to the White House.
6:56 P.M. — Biden has ordered flags to half-staff after 13 U.S. service members are killed in terror attack outside Kabul airport.
6:42 P.M. — CBS News reports that the death toll of U.S. service members in the Kabul airport attack has risen to 13.
6:41 P.M. —
6:35 P.M. — Psaki responds to question regarding calls from Republicans for Biden to resign:
6:25 P.M. — “We have evacuated 7,000 people in the last 12 to 13 hours,” according to Psaki.
6:17 P.M. — Psaki says Biden did not consider extending troops on the ground beyond August 31. “He relies on the advice of his mil commanders and they continue to believe it is essential to get out by the 31st,” she says.
6:16 P.M. — Psaki says the U.S. possesses “an enormous amount of leverage over the Taliban” economically.
6:12 P.M. — White House press secretary Jen Psaki clarifies Biden’s statement on evacuations:
5:58 P.M. — Rep. Jim Jordan calls on Biden to resign.
5:56 P.M. — Biden admits he bears “responsibility” for the Afghanistan withdrawal disaster in a tense exchange with Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocey. The president is seen hunching over and clutching his leather folder as Doocey presses him on recent events.
5:41 P.M. — Biden says of working with the Taliban: “No one trusts them. It’s not a matter of trust, it’s a matter of mutual self-interest.”
5:40 P.M. — Biden says there is no sign of “collusion” between Taliban and ISIS in Kabul attack.
5:39 P.M. —
5:38 P.M. —
5:34 P.M. — Biden holds a moment of silence.
5:33 P.M. — Biden: “We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place we choose and the moment of our choosing. These terrorists will not win. Our mission will go on. America will not be intimidated.”
5:31 P.M. — Biden says the U.S. will make Kabul bombers “pay.”
5:20 P.M. —
5:14 P.M. — At least 90 people were killed and 150 injured in the Kabul terror attacks, a senior health official says of latest death toll, according to the Wall Street Journal.
4:52 P.M. — Former President Donald Trump and former Friday Lady Melania Trump shares their deepest condolences for the 12 U.S. service members killed in the attacks in Kabul.
“Melania and I send our deepest condolences to the families of our brilliant and brave Service Members whose duty to the U.S.A. meant so much to them. Our thoughts are also with the families of the innocent civilians who died today in the savage Kabul attack,” Trump said in a statement. “This tragedy should never have been allowed to happen, which makes our grief even deeper and more difficult to understand.”
4:42 P.M. — Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) says: “President Biden must face the American people and address questions on how we will respond to this massacre or he should resign immediately.”
4:41 P.M. — More House Republicans call on Biden to resign.
4:40 P.M. — A grim stat highlighted by The Federalist’s co-founder Sean Davis:
4:30 P.M. — Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) calls for Biden to resign.
4:05 P.M. — Two El Cajon families that were stranded in Afghanistan have returned, while four others remain stuck in the country, KTLA reports:
Two families from a San Diego suburb have made it home from Afghanistan after they went to the country earlier this summer to visit relatives and got stuck there amid the chaos following the Taliban’s takeover, officials said Thursday.
Four other families from El Cajon were still trying to get out, and U.S. government officials along with California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa were working on their safe return. The suburb, east of San Diego, has a large refugee population. Many of the families had gone to Afghanistan in May and early June, weeks before the crisis unfolded, so their children could see their grandparents and other relatives.
4:01 P.M. — Taliban spokesman issues statement on latest blast: “Explosions were heard inside Kabul airport after dinner today. These explosions were carried out by American forces to destroy their equipment, so that the citizens of Kabul do not worry.”
3:42 P.M. — Los Angeles Times journalist reports he just felt a shockwave from a “very large blast” in Kabul.
AFP staff report another “huge blast heard in Kabul.”
3:41 P.M. — President Joe Biden will speak at 5:00 P.M. EST.
3:40 P.M. — The Biden administration supplied the Taliban with a list of names of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies as part of an effort to grant them entry to the outer perimeter of Kabul’s airport, Politico reports:
The move, detailed to POLITICO by three U.S. and congressional officials, was designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan as chaos erupted in Afghanistan’s capital city last week after the Taliban seized control of the country. It also came as the Biden administration has been relying on the Taliban for security outside the airport.
But the decision to provide specific names to the Taliban, which has a history of brutally murdering Afghans who collaborated with the U.S. and other coalition forces during the conflict, has angered lawmakers and military officials.
“Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.”
3:37 P.M. — NBC News terrorism analyst reports that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Kabul airport attack and has shared the purported terrorist’s photo.
3:23 P.M. —
3:20 P.M. —
3:18 P.M. — Gen. McKenzie is warning that the threat of suicide vehicle in Kabul is “high right now” and says the U.S. military has asked Taliban to conduct security in the streets.
3:12 P.M. — Gen. McKenzie says the threat from ISIS is “extremely real” and believe it is their desire to continue attacks and expect attacks to continue.
3:13 P.M. —
3:10 P.M. —
3:03 P.M. — The Pentagon has confirmed 12 U.S. service members were killed and 15 wounded in the Kabul attacks. U.S. official say the attacks were conducted by ISIS fighters.
2:45 P.M. —
2:24 P.M. — 11 U.S. Marines and a Navy medic were killed in the Kabul attacks, according to the latest death toll count, per AP.
2:23 P.M. — At least 60 people were killed and 150 injured in explosions at Kabul airport, according to health officials, per the Wall Street Journal.
2:18 P.M. — The Death toll of U.S. service members in Kabul likely to rise, according to U.S. officials, reports Fox News.
2:16 P.M. — A grim milestone:
2:02 P.M. — The death toll of U.S. service members has risen from 4 to 10 in Kabul, Fox News reports.
1:42 P.M. — The State Department will not hold a briefing today.
1:41 P.M. —
1:16 P.M. — More House Republicans condemn Biden over the deadly attacks in Kabul, with Rep. Roger Williams (TX) calling for the president to “resign or be legally removed.”
1:13 P.M. — Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby confirms “a number” of U.S. service members were killed due to the blast outside the Kabul airport in Kabul, but does not state how many.
1:02 P.M. — The Wall Street Journal reports four U.S. Marines were killed and three others wounded in Kabul attack:
The U.S. ambassador in Kabul has told staff there that four U.S. Marines were killed in an explosion at the city’s airport and three wounded, a U.S. official with knowledge of the briefing said. Two explosions ripped through crowds of Afghans trying to enter the airport on Thursday.
12:56 P.M. — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemns the twin attacks in Kabul, says U.K. will continue with evacuations.
12:40 P.M. — Taliban spokesman issues a statement on the twin Kabul bombings: “The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the bombing of civilians at Kabul airport, which took place in an area where US forces are responsible for security. The Islamic Emirate is paying close attention to the security and protection of its people, and evil circles will be strictly stopped.”
12:39 P.M. —
12:27 P.M. —U.S. Marine and reporter Julio Rosas and others are blasting frequent MSNBC guest Malcolm Nance over his commentary of the deadly Kabul blasts in which U.S. troops were reportedly wounded.
12:17 P.M. — The New York Times reports at least 40 dead bodies and 120 injured have been taken to hospitals across Kabul.
12:16 P.M. — 60 Irish nationals have been behind in Afghanistan as the Irish military departs, according to Independent.ie.
12:15 P.M. — The Canadian government has ended its evacuation mission in Afghanistan, leaving multiple Canadians stranded, BBC reports.
12:04 P.M. — Afghanistan news channel TOLOnews shares graphic footage following the blast outside Kabul’s airport.
12:01 P.M. — The White House briefing with press secretary Jen Psaki scheduled for noon is now delayed.
11:50 A.M. — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says evacuations from Kabul should continue after “horrific terrorist attack.”
11:49 A.M. —
11:48 A.M. — An emergency hospital in Kabul tells Reuters that roughly 60 wounded people have arrived following the city’s twin explosions.
11:45 A.M. —
11:35 A.M. — As many as five U.S. troops may have been injured, according to Reuters.
11:30 A.M. — Afghanistan news channel TOLOnews reports: “Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that 52 people had been wounded in two explosions near Kabul airport. He added that the blast also caused casualties, but exact figures are not available.”
11:26 A.M. — A source tells Fox News that “hundreds of ISIS-K in the vicinity, attacks likely to continue” following twin blasts in Kabul.
11:22 A.M. — A pair of House Republican lawmakers call on President Biden to resign.
11:21 A.M. — ISIS is “definitely believed to be” the culprit behind the attack outside Kabul’s airport, a U.S. official tells the Associated Press.
11:15 A.M. — The White House has postponed President Joe Biden’s scheduled meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid.
11:03 A.M. — The Wall Street Journal’s Afghanistan correspondent reports 30 wounded people have arrived at a hospital for treatment. Six are dead on arrival.
10:57 A.M. — Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby confirms a “complex attack” has resulted in U.S. and civilian casualties. “We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate,” the official adds.
10:52 A.M. —
An ISIS suicide bomber was responsible for the blast out Kabul’s airport, an unnamed U.S. official told Politico.
10:39 A.M. —
10:34 A.M. —
10:33 A.M. — President Joe Biden is in the White House Situation Room as he receives updates on the blast in Kabul.
10:30 A.M. — Reuters White House correspondent Steve Holland, citing a Taliban official, reports at least 13 people, including children, were killed in the blast outside Kabul’s main airport.
10:12 A.M. —
10:05 A.M. —
9:44 A.M. —
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