Attack at Kabul Airport in 2021

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On August 26, 2021, a suicide bomber bombed a crowd at a gate to Kabul airport in Afghanistan . The day after the attack, a clinic spokesman said that 79 Afghans died in the attack. Hours later, the Taliban- controlled Afghan authorities said at least 170 Afghans had died; a number borrowed from internationally established media outlets such as the New York Times and Guardian . 13 US soldiers and three British nationals also died in the attack. At least 200 other people were injured. ISIS-K, the branch of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, claimed responsibility for the attack.

background

In August 2021 , during the withdrawal of NATO troops, the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan . An international evacuation was then initiated. The US stuck to its withdrawal date on August 26, 2021: by August 31, 2021, it intends to withdraw all armed forces from the country. According to US President Joe Biden , no more evacuations will take place afterwards. Chaos and panic reigned at Kabul Airport, compounded by this announcement. In the days before the attack, several states had warned of a terrorist attack at the airport (based on assessments made by their own secret services, based on specific evidence). ISIS-K, an offshoot of the “Islamic State” that is active in Afghanistan , is considered one of the most radical opponents of the Taliban and had announced attacks.

attack

At around 5:00 p.m. local time (1:20 p.m. UTC ), a suicide bomber blew himself up in front of the Abbey Gate ( location ) of Kabul Airport. The Abbey Gate is one of the corridors that lead to the civilian part on the south side of the airport and has been or is overcrowded with people willing to leave for several days. Gunfire rang out after the explosion. According to a US general, several IS fighters shot at civilians and soldiers. All gates at the airport were then closed.

For a short time it was said that there had also been an explosion at the Baron Gate. This gate is located near the Abbey Gate. The US government only confirmed the first explosion. In her original reports she had assumed two explosions.

The emergency aid organization Emergency , which operates a local hospital, reported more than 60 people injured immediately after the attack. The number of victims increased during the day.

victim

Nicole Gee (standing left with baby), six days before she was murdered

The following 13 US soldiers were killed in the attack: Nicole Gee (23, picture right), Johanny Rosario Pichardo (25), Darin Hoover (31), Hunter Lopez (22), Daegan Page (23), Humberto Sanchez (22 ), David Espinoza (20), Jared Schmitz (20), Rylee McCollum (20), Dylan Merola (20), Kareem Nikoui (20) as well as Ryan Knauss (23) and Maxton Soviak (22). The first eleven belonged to the Marine Corps , Knauss to the Army and Soviak as a medic in the Navy . 18 other US soldiers were wounded. Those killed were the first US soldiers to die in Afghanistan since February 2020 and also the largest single loss of US military personnel since the Boeing Chinook was shot down in Afghanistan in 2011 .

The Afghan authorities, taken over by the Taliban, announced that at least 170 Afghan citizens had died. Media such as Spiegel , New York Times and ABC News adopted this representation in their reporting. Previously, the day after the attack, a hospital spokesman counted 72 Afghans dead as a result of the incident. That number was corrected to 79 hours later. At least 200 other people were injured, some seriously, including Taliban members.

Reactions

Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned "the vile attack in a very, very tense situation" and canceled her planned visit to Israel for August 28-30. Merkel declared the evacuation operation ended on the same day. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the attacks had made it clear "that an extension of the operation in Kabul was not possible". The Netherlands and Spain also ended their evacuation missions due to the attacks; Great Britain announced that it would now deal with around a thousand people who were already in British custody at the airport and end the operation in a few hours.

The President of the United States of America , Joe Biden , announced that despite the attacks, the evacuation mission would continue as planned until August 31, 2021. The Department of Defense confirmed this and named a number of over 104,000 civilians, including around 5,000 Americans, who have already been evacuated by the mission. It is assumed that there are just over 1,000 American civilians in Afghanistan. US President Biden announced retribution for the attacks in Kabul with the words "We will hunt you down and make you pay for it". In negotiations between Turkey and the radical Islamic Taliban after the attack, the Taliban suggested securing the airport itself after the evacuation mission was over, while Turkey could ensure operational operations. Even after the attack, the White House spoke of the possibility of further attacks, and the troops deployed in Kabul were still in danger.

Ex-President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to the killed soldiers and their relatives. Since coming to power in Afghanistan , Trump had sent statements almost daily accusing Joe Biden. Trump signed the Doha Agreement with the Taliban on February 29, 2020 . In the negotiations it ignored the Afghan government, the Afghan armed forces and the NATO allies.

Counterstrike

The US armed forces reportedly carried out a drone attack on “a planner” from ISIS-K in Nangahar province in retaliation . The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that according to the Bloomberg news agency, citing a US representative, an MQ-9 Reaper drone was used. Contrary to statements by other sources, including the US central command Centcom , the attack was alleged not to have targeted a person planning the attack at the airport in Kabul, but rather a person who the US suspects of being involved in the planning of further attacks. On August 28, the US government announced that two ISIS-K personnel had been killed and one wounded. As far as she knew, no bystanders were harmed.

armed forces

The Bundeswehr carried out its last evacuation flights on the day of the attack. The last German aircraft was preparing to take off at the time of the attack and then carried out an emergency take-off. At the time of the attack, the German Air Force also had a Medevac aircraft in Afghan airspace in order to be prepared for possible incidents during the withdrawal of the last German troops. After the explosions, the Medevac landed again at Kabul airport.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): "Terror threats have intensified massively" | DW | August 26, 2021. Accessed August 26, 2021 (German).
  2. ↑ Warnings about the threat of terrorism at Kabul Airport. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved August 26, 2021 .
  3. ↑ Afghanistan: USA, Great Britain and Australia warn of a terrorist attack at Kabul airport. In: Der Spiegel. Retrieved August 26, 2021 .
  4. ↑ tagesschau.de: Afghanistan: USA attack IS with drones. Retrieved August 28, 2021 .
  5. ↑ Frustrated Taliban and fighters from neighboring countries - This is the IS offshoot in Afghanistan. In: Welt.de. August 27, 2021, accessed August 27, 2021 .
  6. ↑ Afghanistan: Pentagon blames IS terrorist group for attacks in Kabul. In: Der Spiegel. Retrieved August 26, 2021 .
  7. ^ A b c d Afghanistan News on Friday: Russia announces maneuvers on the Afghan border. In: Der Spiegel. Retrieved August 27, 2021 .
  8. ↑ ( location )
  9. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Many dead in bomb attacks at Kabul airport | DW | August 26, 2021. Accessed August 27, 2021 (German).
  10. ↑ By Rob Picheta, Meg Wagner, Melissa Mahtani, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Fernando Alfonso: Pentagon confirms second explosion near Kabul airport and "a number of US and civilian casualties". August 26, 2021, accessed August 27, 2021 .
  11. ^ Pentagon confirms only one explosion outside Kabul airport, after initially reporting two . In: cnn.com . August 27, 2021, accessed August 27, 2021.
  12. ^ Spiegel.de: Afghanistan: Explosion at Kabul Airport. Retrieved August 26, 2021 .
  13. ↑ a b Lucy Campbell (now); Robyn Vinter, Helen Sullivan (earlier), Jason Burke, Amelia Gentleman, Lisa O'Carroll: Afghanistan live news: children reportedly among those killed after two explosions outside Kabul airport . In: The Guardian online . August 26, 2021, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed August 26, 2021]).
  14. ↑ [Among the Troops Who Died, Two Women on the Front LineIn: The New York Times , August 28, 2021.
  15. ^ Young dad-to-be was among 13 US troops killed in Afghanistan, AP News
  16. ↑ Afghanistan: US wants to hunt down Kabul airport attack jihadists, says Biden . In: BBC News . August 27, 2021 ( bbc.com [accessed August 27, 2021]).
  17. ↑ US braces for more ISIS attacks after carnage at Kabul airport (de) . August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021. 
  18. ↑ US on alert for further Kabul attacks in race to complete evacuations. August 28, 2021, accessed August 28, 2021 .
  19. ^ Julian E. Barnes, Farnaz Fassihi: American Forces Destroy CIA Base In Controlled Detonation . In: The New York Times . August 27, 2021, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed August 28, 2021]).
  20. ↑ Afghanistan live updates: Biden warns of 'highly likely' attack after US killed 2 Islamic State members. August 28, 2021, accessed August 28, 2021 .
  21. ↑ Explosion in front of Kabul Airport . In: BBC , August 25, 2021. 
  22. ↑ 13 US soldiers killed in explosion at Kabul airport, according to the authorities: LIVE UPDATES . In: Fox News . August 26, 2021. Accessed August 26, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Absolutely vile attack". Tagesspiegel , August 26, 2021, accessed on August 26, 2021 .
  24. ↑ Merkel cancels visit to Israel. n-tv , August 26, 2021, accessed on August 26, 2021 .
  25. ^ Bundeswehr mission in Kabul ended. In: tagesschau.de. August 26, 2021, accessed August 26, 2021 .
  26. ↑ Kabul Airport: Great Britain and Spain are also stopping evacuation flights. In: deutschlandfunk.de. August 27, 2021, accessed August 27, 2021 .
  27. ↑ VRM GmbH & Co KG: Afghanistan crisis: USA continue evacuation after attack. August 16, 2021, accessed August 27, 2021 .
  28. ^ Tragic Deaths of US Service Members in Afghanistan Won. Retrieved August 27, 2021 (American English).
  29. ↑ Afghanistan - US President Biden announces retaliation after attacks. Retrieved on August 27, 2021 (German).
  30. ↑ n-tv NEWS: +++ 12:13 Careless handling of data: Brits put local workers in danger +++. Retrieved August 27, 2021 .
  31. ↑ BIDEN MAKES YOU SERIOUS: US combat drones hunt IS terrorists in Afghanistan | WORLD theme. Retrieved on August 28, 2021 (German).
  32. ↑ Flags in the USA set at half-mast after the attack. Retrieved August 27, 2021 .
  33. ↑ Interview with Christian Wagner (Head of the Asia Research Group at the Science and Politics Foundation ): "Trump's agreement with the Taliban was the cardinal mistake". (Rheinische Post online from August 17, 2021, online )
  34. ↑ "Target Killed". USA flies drone attack against IS offshoots. In: n-tv.de. August 28, 2021, accessed August 28, 2021 .
  35. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Afghanistan: US military attacks IS offshoots. Retrieved August 28, 2021 .
  36. ↑ 'This strike was not the last,' says Biden on drone strike against ISIS-K in Afghanistan ( English ) CNN. August 28, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2021.