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Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the terrorist group “strongly condemns” the suicide bombings outside Kabul’s international airport in a statement Thursday.
The attacks left at least 40 people killed, including children and ten U.S. Marines, and wounded another 120 on Thursday.
EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / TOPSHOT – Volunteers and medical staff unload bodies from a pickup truck outside a hospital after two powerful explosions, which killed at least six people, outside the airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021. (WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images).
“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,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter.
“The Islamic Emirate is paying close attention to the security and protection of its people, and evil circles will be strictly stopped,” Zabihullah added.
The Taliban claimed in the immediate aftermath of the attack that it, too, had taken some casualties in the form of guards keeping Afghans from entering the airport. Mujahid announced a ban on Afghan nationals taking foreign emergency flights out of the country on Tuesday.
At least ten U.S. troops have been killed in the explosions at the Kabul airport at press time. A second blast was also reported near the city’s Baron Hotel, but the total casualty count remains unclear. The White House has delayed its briefing with press secretary Jen Psaki, where presumably it would offer a more concrete update on the status of American citizens in the country.
EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Volunteers and medical staff bring an injured man for treatment after two powerful explosions, which killed at least six people, outside the airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021. (WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images).
As many as 12 elected Republicans, including Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), have called on President Joe Biden to resign.
“I called for Biden’s resignation the first day this Afghanistan debacle began & it has grown more deadly by the day,” Rep. Tenney tweeted on Thursday. “Now the Pentagon is confirming a number of US & civilian casualties. I urge my colleagues to join me in calling for the resignation or impeachment of Joe Biden.”
“Earlier this week, I too called on the President of the United States to resign immediately following his haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Rep. Donalds added. “He has abdicated his responsibility and duties entrusted to him as POTUS, and he must RESIGN IMMEDIATELY.”
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