Due to the seriousness of the situation, Americans and evacuees have been told they have 36 hours to leave Afghanistan, with the Kabul Airport scenario being a security danger, according to multiple reports.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby tweeted about this topic on Thursday, saying, “Evacuation operations in Kabul will not be wrapping up in 36 hours. We will continue to evacuate as many people as we can until the end of the mission.”
Evacuation operations in Kabul will not be wrapping up in 36 hours. We will continue to evacuate as many people as we can until the end of the mission. #HKIA
— John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) August 26, 2021
Later that morning, Kirby tweeted, “We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can.”
As The Daily Wire reported:
The Pentagon confirmed that an explosion went off near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday, which comes as U.S. forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan and end a weeks-long rush to evacuate Americans and Afghan visa holders.
It is unclear whether the explosion caused any injuries or how many. The explosion happened after multiple countries suspended their evacuation operations over terror threats reported near the airport.
President Joe Biden earlier established an August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of US soldiers from Afghanistan, ostensibly in response to Taliban threats of consequences and statements that the deadline was a "red line."
“The sooner we can finish, the better,” Biden said during an address at the White House on Tuesday. “Every day we’re on the ground is another day we know that [Islamic State-affiliate] ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport, attack both U.S. and allied forces and innocent civilians.”
“Thus far, the Taliban have been taking steps to work with us so we can get our people out,” he said. “But it’s a tenuous situation. We’ve already had some gunfighting break out. We run a serious risk of it breaking down, as time goes on.”
