Shock after the attack in Kabul: “All hell broke loose”

One day after the attack, details of how the attack took place in Kabul became known. Even if new attacks by “IS” are feared, people continue to rush to the airport in the hope of leaving the country.

Even today, people crowd in front of Kabul airport, and the day after the attack, transport planes take off and land in close succession. There is little time to fly out as many people as possible, because the evacuation mission should be finished by next Tuesday. The last Bundeswehr machine flew to Tashkent in Uzbekistan yesterday shortly before the bomb attacks.

An eyewitness recorded the explosion on his cell phone – the cloud of smoke over Kabul airport dominates news images worldwide and has become a symbol of terror and death. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in front of the airport. There, where thousands of desperate people crowded to get a seat in one of the planes from Kabul.

This man describes the terrible moment on the Afghan television station Tolo TV. “It was a huge explosion, the pressure wave knocked me to the ground. All around me people were flying through the air, body parts torn off, brain matter, blood. Look at my clothes, completely blood-stained. People began to run away in panic, probably four up to 500 people. We then brought the wounded out – on stretchers or packed them under the arms. ”

When chaos and panic broke out after the explosions, two perpetrators fired assault rifles into the crowd. US security experts call this a “complex attack”. Another explosive device detonated in a nearby hotel in Kabul, where British citizens and vulnerable Afghans are being prepared for their evacuation to Great Britain.

“The Taliban shot up in panic”

A former British marine – deployed in the evacuation – witnessed the attack inside the airport and reported on the BBC about his impressions: “The Taliban did not recognize our papers and we were forced to leave the tarmac. At that moment there was Two explosions about a mile away and all hell broke loose. The Taliban who guarded us shot into the air in panic – emptied entire magazines of their AK 47s in sustained fire, right by the window where women and children were standing. “

The ambulance sirens wailed through Kabul. But the injured were also brought to the clinics in wheelbarrows or on the backs of helpers. An exact victim balance is not yet possible. The death toll varies between 85 and over 100 – more than 150 people were injured, including women, children and men. 13 US soldiers who guarded the airport were among the victims. US President Biden has threatened the perpetrators with retaliation.

“IS” and the Taliban are enemies

The attacks in Kabul did not come as a surprise. In the past few days there had been increasing warnings of terrorist attacks by the terrorist militia “Islamic State”. The American embassy in Kabul had asked all US citizens to leave the area around the airport immediately. The British Ministry of Defense spoke yesterday morning of the threat of a “serious, immediate, fatal attack”.

In the meantime, the terrorist militia “Islamic State” has acknowledged the attacks. The “IS” is at odds with the Taliban, who took power in Afghanistan. The US military does not believe that the Taliban were involved in the attacks. “The Taliban also want the US to leave the country by August 31,” said US General Mac Kenzie and continued: “So we share a common goal. And as long as that is the case, cooperation with the Taliban is useful. “