Afghan civilians and US service members were killed in the attack.
The Hamid Karzai International Airport has been the epicenter of a massive evacuation operation in the days since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan. Over the past two weeks, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the airport by the US military and NATO allies.
US officials believe ISIS-K, the ISIS branch that rivals the Taliban in Afghanistan, was likely behind Thursday’s attack. President Joe Biden revealed that he has ordered military commanders “to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership, and facilities.”
“We will respond with force and precision in our time, in a place we choose in a manner of our choosing,” he said, declining to give specifics on timing.
Editor’s note: This gallery contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.
People who were injured in Thursday’s bomb attacks are visited by family members at a hospital in Kabul.Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/ShutterstockSmoke rises from an explosion outside the airport on Thursday.Wali Sabawoon/APAn injured person waits to be transported near the airport.Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times/ReduxAfghan refugees are gathered outside the Baron Hotel in Kabul as the British military secures the perimeter on Thursday.Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/ShutterstockA bloodied shield stands outside the entrance of a Kabul hospital after Thursday’s bomb attacks.Jim Huylebroek/The New York TimesAn injured man is seen outside a hospital after Thursday’s attacks.Victor J. Blue/The New York Times/ReduxA bloodied gurney is seen at a Kabul hospital on Thursday.Victor J. Blue/The New York Times/ReduxTaliban members guard a road near the airport after a bombing on Thursday.Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times/ReduxAn injured patient waits to be transported to another floor at the Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital in Kabul.Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/ShutterstockA person injured in a bomb blast is carried outside a Kabul hospital on Thursday.Victor J. Blue/The New York Times/ReduxBritish soldiers secure the perimeter outside the Baron Hotel in Kabul on Thursday.Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/ShutterstockA person is wheeled on a stretcher outside a hospital on Thursday.Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/ShutterstockInjured women arrive at a hospital for treatment on Thursday.Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty ImagesAn ambulance rushes to the site of an explosion near the airport on Thursday.Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times/ReduxVolunteers and medical staff unload bodies at a hospital after the bomb blasts.Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty ImagesAn injured person arrives on a stretcher at a Kabul hospital on Thursday.Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times/ReduxA man receives medical attention outside a Kabul hospital on Thursday.Victor J. Blue/The New York Times/ReduxPeople are sent away from the scene of a bomb blast outside the airport on Thursday.Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times/Redux
