The US Embassy in Kabul, the Afghan capital, has again urged US citizens to avoid Hamid Karzai International Airport. The fear is that the site is the scene of further attacks by ISIS as part of the evacuation efforts.
An attack by the terrorist group Thursday (26) left nearly 200 dead at the site, which records scenes of people trying to leave the country after the Taliban took power.
In a statement released Friday (27), the embassy says there are still security threats and calls on citizens to leave the north, east and Abbey Gate immediately.
Even after the attack, crowds continue to try to access the airport and, according to the Pentagon, 5,400 people remain inside, waiting for places for humanitarian flights.
A similar instruction was given by the embassy two days ago, when the US government was already anticipating possible attacks from the Afghan branch of Islamic State, EI-Khorasan, a common enemy of the United States and the United States. Taliban.
Local estimates suggest 170 Afghans and 13 US servicemen were killed in Thursday’s bombing. 200 other people are injured. IS-K, claiming responsibility for the attack, claimed that the suicide bomber was targeting Afghans who worked for the United States in one way or another.
Before the diplomacy warning, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said earlier this Friday that another terrorist attack in Kabul was likely. “The threat continues. Our troops are still in danger,” he said.
After the attack, about 4,200 people were evacuated from Kabul on 12 flights from the United States and other countries, according to the US government.
US President Joe Biden has pledged revenge on the perpetrators of the bombing and has already started sharing intelligence information with the so-called rival Taliban to prevent further attacks, which the government fears will they don’t happen as early as Friday.