Status: 08/26/2021 4:25 p.m.
According to the US Department of Defense, there was an explosion in front of Kabul airport. Apparently it is a suicide attack. Local media report fatalities.
Shortly before the end of the international evacuation flights, the situation in Kabul is still confusing: Outside the airport of the Afghan capital there was at least one explosion. ARD correspondent Oliver Mayer reported that there were also battles. Several suicide bombers are said to be near the airport. The Reuters news agency, citing a US government official, reported that it was a suicide attack and that there were victims. Local Afghan media report fatalities. There is no official confirmation yet.
The Bundeswehr operations command announced that Bundeswehr forces were not affected. More detailed information is not yet available.
Oliver Mayer, ARD New Delhi, with assessments of the effects of the explosion on the evacuation mission
tagesschau24 4:00 p.m., August 26, 2021
Defense Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed the explosion reports on Twitter. Nothing is known about possible victims so far. The ministry will provide more details as they become available.
Appeal to people to get to safety
The French ambassador to Afghanistan, David Martinon, warned on Twitter of a possible impending further explosion. Anyone who is at the entrances to the airport should get to safety as soon as possible.
In the past few days there had been increasing warnings of terrorist attacks around the airport in Kabul. The evacuation flights continue there today. Thousands of people crowd there despite all the warnings and try to get into what is believed to be one of the last machines.
According to the US, around 13,400 people were flown out of Afghanistan on Wednesday. This increases the number of people evacuated by the United States and its allies since August 14 to around 95,700, the American government announced. Other states like Canada have already ceased efforts to fly people out.
The Bundeswehr, too, has only a few hours to fly people out. Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer said that all those affected had been asked not to come to the airport.
According to its own statements, the Bundeswehr has so far evacuated more than 5,200 people from Kabul. The responsible general announced in Berlin, including 4200 Afghans and 505 Germans. A total of people from 45 nations were flown out.