Dozens of civilians, 10 US troops killed in bloodbath at Kabul airport

• Dozens of bodies visible in videos.
• Western nations had warned of Daesh threat.
• A "complex attack", says Pentagon spokesman.
• US to shift focus to getting last troops out.

Suicide bombers struck the crowded gates of Kabul airport with at least two explosions on Thursday, causing a bloodbath among civilians, killing four US marines and effectively shutting down the Western airlift of Afghans desperate to flee.

The Pentagon said "a number" of American service members were killed. One US official said according to initial reports at least 10 had died.

There was no complete death toll, but video images uploaded by Afghan journalists showed dozens of bodies of people killed in tightly packed crowds outside the airport.

A watery ditch by the airport fence was filled with bloodsoaked corpses, some being fished out and laid in heaps on the canal side while wailing civilians searched for loved ones. 

The Pentagon said "a number" of American service members were killed. Sources said at least four marines were dead and three wounded.

Several Western countries said the airlift of civilians was now effectively over, with the United States having sealed the gates of the airport leaving no way out for tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the West through two decades of war.

A Taliban official said at least 13 people including children had been killed in the attack and 52 were wounded, though it was clear from video footage that those figures were far from complete. One surgical hospital run by an Italian charity said it alone was treating more than 60 wounded.

The explosions took place amid the crowds outside the airport who have been massing for days in hope of escaping in an airlift which the United States says will end by Tuesday, following the swift capture of the country by the Taliban.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, but US officials pointed the finger at Daesh, which has emerged as enemies of both the West and of the Taliban.

A witness who gave his name as Jamshed said he went to the airport in the hope of getting a visa for the United States.

"There was a very strong and powerful suicide attack, in the middle of the people. Many were killed, including Americans," he said.

'Complex attack'

Zubair, a 24 year-old civil engineer, who had been trying for a nearly week to get inside the airport with a cousin who had papers authorising him to travel to the United States, said he was 50 metres from the first of two suicide bombers who detonated explosives at the gate.

"Men, women and children were screaming. I saw many injured people – men, women and children – being loaded into private vehicles and taken toward the hospitals," he said. After the explosions there was gunfire.

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on Twitter: "We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US and civilian casualties. We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate."

Taliban official Suhail Shaheen said there were two explosions in a crowded area managed by US forces. "We strongly condemn this gruesome incident and will take every step to bring the culprits to justice."

The Taliban did not identify the attackers, but a spokesman described it as the work of "evil circles" who would be suppressed once the foreign troops leave.

Washington and its allies had been urging civilians to stay away from the airport on Thursday, citing the threat of Daesh suicide attack.

In the past 12 days, Western countries have evacuated nearly 100,000 people, mostly Afghans who helped them. But they say many thousands more will be left behind following President Joe Biden's order to pull out all troops by Aug 31.

The last few days of the airlift will mostly be used to withdraw the remaining troops. Canada and some European countries have already announced the end of their airlifts, while publicly lamenting Biden's abrupt pullout.

Airport doors 'closed'

"The doors at the airport are now closed and it is no longer possible to get people in," Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said on Thursday.

"We wish we could have stayed longer and rescued everyone," the acting chief of Canada's defence staff, General Wayne Eyre, told reporters.

Biden ordered all troops out of Afghanistan by the end of the month to comply with a withdrawal agreement with the Taliban negotiated by his predecessor Donald Trump. He spurned calls this week from European allies for more time.

The abrupt collapse of the Western-backed government in Afghanistan caught US officials by surprise and risks reversing gains, especially in the rights of women and girls, millions of whom have been going to school and work, once forbidden under the Taliban.

Biden has defended the decision to leave, saying US forces could not stay indefinitely. But his critics say the US force, which once numbered more than 100,000, had been reduced in recent years to just a few thousand troops, no longer involved in fighting on the ground and mainly confined to an air base. 

It was a fraction of the size of US military contingents that have stayed in places such as Korea for decades.

The US troops killed on Thursday were the first to die in action in Afghanistan in 18 months.

Violence from Daesh creates a headache for the Taliban who have promised that their victory will bring peace to Afghanistan at last. Fighters claiming allegiance to Daesh began appearing in eastern Afghanistan at the end of 2014 and have established a reputation for extreme brutality.

Since the day before the Taliban swept into Kabul, the United States and its allies have mounted one of the biggest air evacuations in history, bringing out about 95,700 people, including 13,400 on Wednesday, the White House said on Thursday.

The Taliban have encouraged Afghans to stay, while saying those with permission to leave will still be allowed to do so once foreign troops leave and commercial flights resume.

Kabul evacuation must remain priority after attack

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said allied forces should continue to evacuate as many vulnerable people as they can from Kabul despite what he branded a "horrific terrorist attack".

"Our priority remains to evacuate as many people to safety as quickly as possible," he tweeted after two deadly.

Belgium and the Netherlands have already halted their airlift from the airport and other allied countries are to follow suit in the coming hours and days, despite fears that at-risk people will be left behind.

The president of the European Commission, Charles Michel, echoed Stoltenberg's call for evacuations to continue.

"Securing safe passage to the airport remains vital," he tweeted.

'Total panic'

The deadly blasts caused "total panic" among Afghans who had thronged outside in the hope of fleeing to safety, away from the country's new Taliban rulers.

Wounded men in blood-soaked clothes were ferried away from the scene in wheelbarrows, while a boy clutched the arm of a man with a head injury, in images posted on social media.

"Bodies, flesh and people were thrown into a canal nearby," Milad, who was at the scene of the first blast, told AFP.

"When people heard the explosion there was total panic. The Taliban then started firing in the air to disperse the crowd at the gate," a second witness said.

"I saw a man rushing with an injured baby in his hands."

In the confusion, he said he dropped the documents he hoped would help him board a flight with his wife and three children.

"Everyone is tense and the army is taking positions around the airport."

Pakistan condemns attack

Pakistan strongly condemned the heinous terrorist attack at Kabul airport and extended its condolences to the bereaved families, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Pakistan strongly condemns the heinous terrorist attack at Kabul airport, which reportedly resulted in loss of precious lives, including children. We condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations, convey our condolences to bereaved families and pray for early recovery of the injured," the Foreign Office said.