SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Kurdistan Region’s Presidency on Friday condemned twin blasts that killed scores of people in Kabul.
“We condemn Thursday’s terror attacks in Kabul that killed dozens of Afghan citizens and U.S. soldiers. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families and loved ones,” the presidency said in a tweet.
Twin suicide bombs ripped through crowds outside Kabul airport on Thursday, killing 13 U.S. troops and 72 Afghans, deepening panic in the final days of an already frenzied evacuation effort from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The bombings, claimed by Islamic State (ISIS), left scenes of carnage outside the airport where thousands of Afghans desperate to flee their country had massed despite a flurry of foreign government warnings – made just hours before – that a major terror attack was imminent.
The suicide bombers targeted people trying to reach access gates at the airport, creating scenes of terror and devastation.
Footage shared on social media showed men and women in a tangled mess in the shin-deep water of a drainage canal.
Stunned survivors pulled themselves to their feet, while others desperately shouted for help in searching the carnage for loved ones.
General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the U.S. Central Command, said more ISIS attacks were expected in Kabul.
The Taliban, which condemned the blasts, emphasized they happened in an area under U.S. military control.
The U.S. government and its allies had raised the alarm earlier in the day with a series of advisories warning their citizens to avoid the airport.
