[The stream is slated to start at 3:00 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon will report to reporters Thursday afternoon following two confirmed explosions near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed several members of the US service and dozens of casualties among Afghans.
U.S. Navy General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, is also expected to report to reporters alongside Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
The latest revelation comes as U.S. and coalition forces accelerate emergency evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, a mission that is expected to end in five days.
About 5,400 U.S. military personnel are assisting in evacuation efforts in Kabul. The British Ministry of Defense, which has the second largest military footprint in Kabul, said earlier on Thursday that there were no known casualties between its government and military personnel on the ground.
After the first explosion, the U.S. embassy in Kabul urged Americans to avoid traveling to the airport and its gates. The embassy had previously issued a security alert urging U.S. citizens near airport gates to “leave immediately.”
Thousands of Afghans have gathered at the gates of Hamid Karzai International Airport seeking a flight out of the country since the Afghan government’s impressive collapse of the Taliban more than a week ago.
In the last 24 hours, Western forces evacuated 13,400 people from Kabul on 91 flights of military cargo planes. Since the mass evacuations began on August 14, approximately 95,700 people have been airlifted from Afghanistan.
Since the end of July, some 101,300 people have been evacuated, including about 4,500 American citizens and their families.