Kabul airport gates closed, crowds cleared after deadly attack
All the gates of Kabul airport were closed early Friday following a deadly attack a day earlier, and the crowds outside the airport have cleared, according to witnesses.
At least 90 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members were killed in twin assaults in Kabul on Thursday.
The first explosion struck a gate of the Kabul airport, while the second occured in a nearby military base used by coalition forces in the past.
The blasts, reportedly caused by suicide bombers, were believed to be the work of an affiliate to the Islamic State.
The Taliban, which took control of Kabul on Aug. 15, condemned the bombing outside the Kabul airport.
U.S. President Joe Biden vowed retaliation in the wake of the incidents.
Biden said he had ordered U.S. military commanders to "strike ISIS-K assets, leadership and facilities," stopping short of elaborating on the specifics.
The assaults occurred after Western nations warned of a terrorist attack at the airport as thousands of people gathered waiting for evacuation flights to leave the country.
As the Aug. 31 deadline looms for U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan, the U.S. has been scrambling to evacuate Americans and its Afghan partners from the country.
