The death toll rose to 169 Afghans, a number that could rise as authorities examine fragmented remains and 13 members of the U.S. service.
The White House and the Pentagon warned there could be more bloodshed ahead of President Joe Biden’s approach on Tuesday to finish the airlift and withdraw U.S. forces. The next few days “will be our most dangerous period to date” in the evacuation, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said hours before the United States issued a security alert for four of the doors of the airport.
Thursday’s bombing, blamed on Afghanistan’s descendants of the Islamic State group, an enemy of the Taliban and the West, was one of the deadliest attacks the country has seen. The United States said it was the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since 2011.
As the call for prayer echoed through Kabul on Friday along with the roar of departing planes, the agitated crowds crowding the airport in hopes of escaping Taliban rule appeared so great. like never before, despite scenes of close victims together after the bombing. .
VIDEO: Pres. Biden’s remarks after the Kabul attack
All over the world, newly arrived Afghan evacuees, many babies grabbed and handfuls of belongings in plastic bags, left evacuation flights to the United States, Albania, Belgium and beyond. On Friday in Kabul, Afghan families searched for loved ones among the bodies, placed along a sidewalk of the hospital to identify them, of the victims of bombings who died asking for a seat on state-run air bridges Units.
Afghans, U.S. citizens and other foreigners were aware that the window was closing to exit the airlift.
Jamshad went to the airport on Friday with his wife and three young children. He took an invitation to a Western country he did not want to identify.
“After the explosion, I decided to give it a try. Because now I have more attacks and I think I have to leave now,” said Jamshad, who like many Afghans only uses one name.
The Pentagon said Friday that there was only one suicide bomber at the airport gate and not two, as U.S. officials initially said. A U.S. official said the suicide bomber was carrying a heavier-than-usual load of about 25 pounds of shrapnel-laden explosives.
The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss preliminary assessments of the attack. Officials who gave the number of Afghan deaths also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.
The Afghan victims range from a young hardworking journalist to an impoverished father, driven to the airport in hopes of a better life.
The American dead were 11 Marines, a Navy sailor and an Army soldier. Many were young children when U.S. forces first entered Afghanistan in 2001.
One, Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Mae’lee Grant Nikoui, sent a video to a family friend in the United States a few hours before he was killed, showing himself smiling and greeting Afghan children.
“Want to make a video together, buddy?” Nikoui asked the boy, leaning over to be in the photo with him. “All right, we’re heroes now, man.”
MORE: What to Know About the Islamic State of Afghanistan Believed to Be Behind Kabul Airport Attack
British officials said two of the country’s citizens and the son of another Briton were also dead when the bomb exploded.
The morning after the attack, the Taliban used a van full of fighters and three captured Humvees to install a barrier 500 meters (1,600 feet) from the airport, keeping crowds further away from U.S. troops. at the doors than before.
U.S. military officials said some doors were closed and other security measures were put in place. They said there were stricter restrictions at Taliban checkpoints and there were fewer people around the gates. The military said it had also asked the Taliban to close certain roads due to the possibility of suicide in vehicles.
The Pentagon said the United States would maintain manned and unmanned flights over the airport for surveillance and protection, including the use of AC-130 guns.
U.S. officials said evacuees were still allowed through the gates with proper credentials. Inside, about 5,400 evacuees were waiting for the flights.
MORE: How the US will respond to Kabul airport attacks
In Washington, U.S. commanders briefed Biden on the development of plans to attack the Islamic State and fulfill the president’s vow to attackers to “hunt you down and make you pay.”
Biden said U.S. efforts to evacuate the U.S. Taliban, Afghan allies and others at greater risk were a “worthy mission.”
“And we will complete the mission,” he said.
The UN Security Council called the target of fleeing civilians and those trying to help “unpleasant”.
The Taliban have withdrawn control of Afghanistan two decades after being ousted in a U.S.-led invasion following the 9/11 attacks. His return to power has terrified many Afghans, who have rushed to flee the country before the US withdrawal.
More than 100,000 people have been safely evacuated to Kabul airport, according to the U.S., but thousands more are struggling to get off one of the largest air bridges in history.
SEE: Former army guard says evacuation chaos in Afghanistan is a “mosh pit against steroids”
The White House said Friday afternoon that U.S. military aircraft had deployed 2,100 evacuees in the previous 24 hours. Another 2,100 people marched on other coalition flights.
The figure was a fraction of the 12,700 people carried by U.S. military planes one day earlier in the week, when the two-week airlift not only met, but exceeded planned capacity for a couple of days.
France ended its own evacuation effort and withdrew shares of a temporary French embassy at the airport, leaving Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban. U.S. and other allies have completed or are ending their airlifts, in part to give the United States time to complete its own operations.
The Taliban have said they will allow Afghans to fly commercial flights after the U.S. withdrawal, but it is unclear which airlines would return to a militant-controlled airport.
Countless Afghans, especially those who had worked with the United States and other Western countries, are now hiding, fearing reprisals despite the group’s full offer of amnesty.
The new rulers have tried to project an image of moderation in recent weeks: a stark contrast to the harsh rule they imposed from 1996 to 2001, when they banned girls from receiving education, banned television and music, and celebrated the public executions.
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Akhgar reported from Istanbul, Gannon of Islamabad and Anna of Nairobi, Kenya. Darlene Superville in Washington and Rahim Faiez in Turkey and Elaine Ganley in Paris collaborated alongside other Associated Press writers around the world.
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