Terror in front of Kabul's airport! Also dead US soldiers - Maas speaks of a "new phase" and travels to the region

Events roll over at the airport in Kabul.

Several explosions have claimed deaths.

The Bundeswehr has meanwhile finished its mission.

The news ticker.

• Several explosions are said to have occurred at Kabul airport on Thursday afternoon

  (original report and entry from 4:55 p.m.)

  .

  The US suspects an IS group behind the attacks

  (see update from August 26, 6:32 p.m.).

• Apparently it was a suicide attack and a car bomb, several fatalities are to be mourned

  (entries from 4:32 p.m. and 5:05 p.m.)

  .

• The Bundeswehr has meanwhile completed its evacuation mission, two soldiers were subsequently flown out

  (entry from 7.10 p.m.)

  .

• Chancellor Angela Merkel, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas condemned the attacks and gave statements on the situation

  (entries from 6:50 p.m., 7:10 p.m. and 7:35 p.m.)

  .

• This news ticker is constantly updated.

Update from August 26th, 7:50 p.m.:

Great Britain will continue to launch evacuation flights regardless of the attacks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after a meeting of the security cabinet.

He called the act “barbaric”, it was “almost certain” that members of the Taliban were among the victims.

Afghanistan: Maas flies to the region on Saturday and wants to hold talks

Update from August 26, 7:35 p.m.:

According to Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, there was already an attack before this double attack. The SPD politician speaks of “horrific images, they go into everyone's marrow”. There are still questions unanswered: “We currently have no information about German victims.” There are still compatriots in Afghanistan with whom we are in contact. Now we should talk to the Taliban about how people can be removed from Afghanistan after August 31st.

According to Maas, the work will continue until everyone is safe, for whom the federal government is responsible.

Agreements are to be made with neighboring countries.

He will fly to the region on Saturday to discuss recordings of these people.

Maas also wants to visit Turkey and Qatar.

Both countries are of great international importance in dealing with the humanitarian situation.

Maas spoke of the fact that the relief operation in Afghanistan was now entering a "new phase".

It was known that the flights would only be possible for a limited time.

That's why they made plans in advance for the time after that.

Update from August 26, 7:23 p.m.:

According to the Pentagon, members of the US armed forces were also killed in the attacks.

There are also injured among the units, and Afghans also fell victim to the attack.

Update from August 26, 7:20 p.m.:

The Taliban condemn the attack, the Islamists themselves are in competition with IS.

A spokesman said the number of dead was up to 20 and 52 people were injured.

Afghanistan: All Bundeswehr soldiers flown out - more than 7,000 people saved

Update from August 26th, 7:10 pm:

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks of a "cowardly attack", but there is currently no further information about the victims. The commander of the German contingent on site triggered the emergency plans for an "emergency departure" after the incident. All armed forces have now been flown out. When the last official flight took off, two soldiers were in the US area of ​​the airport and therefore could not board. As agreed, they went to a shelter before they were picked up by the MedEvac that remained on site. The Bundeswehr had made an offer to the allies to use the plane to help take care of the injured. So far, however, this has not been necessary.

According to the CDU politician, 5,347 people from at least 45 nations were taken out of Afghanistan in the course of the evacuation mission.

These include around 500 Germans and over 4,000 Afghans.

Around 2000 local employees and their family members had already been brought to Germany in advance.

Now she is looking at the country with worries, but at the end of the "greatest airlift in history" there is also "relief that all soldiers have come out of the country unharmed."

+

Statement from Berlin: Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is dismayed by the “cowardly attack”.

© Kay Nietfeld / dpa

Update from August 26, 6:50 p.m.:

According to Angela Merkel, there should have been several suicide attacks in Kabul.

So far there had been talk of a suicide bomber and a car bomb.

The Chancellor spoke about the events at a short press conference.

Merkel spoke of "depressing news" that the warnings of the last few days had now been confirmed.

The terrorists wanted to target people who were waiting in front of the airport to leave the country.

"These people want security and peace and therefore this is an absolutely vile attack," said Merkel.

Even after the evacuation flights have ended, they want to coordinate with the Taliban and negotiate further departures, especially for local staff, the Chancellor said.

Update from August 26, 6.45 p.m.:

After the attack, the Bundeswehr

ordered an A400M transport aircraft

equipped to take care of the injured

back to the airport.

The machine, a so-called MedEvac, was actually on site for emergencies in the airspace, but offered the Americans unscheduled help with supply.

In addition, two Bundeswehr soldiers were recorded who had remained on the ground during the chaos.

Afghanistan: Terrorist attack is attributed to IS subsidiary - apparently more than 60 injured

Update from August 26, 6:32 p.m.:

The USA apparently assumes that the extremist group IS-Khorassan is behind the attacks at Kabul Airport.

The

ntv

reports

, citing an insider who is supposed to inform the US Congress.

This Afghan offshoot of IS has been active in Afghanistan since 2015 and is named after the historic Khorassan region.

This includes parts of Central Asia, Pakistan and Iran.

According to

ntv

reports, the

IS offshoot is

responsible for some of the worst attacks in the region in recent years and primarily targets Muslim "heretics", especially Shiites.

Although ISIS and the Taliban are both Sunni extremist organizations, the report says there are differences between them - both in religious and strategic orientation.

According to this, both fought bloody fights against each other, which the Taliban could for the most part win.

Update from August 26, 5:52 p.m.:

French President Emmanuel Macron has declared that there are still 20 buses with French citizens and other people who are to be protected in Kabul.

Some of the buses are already at the gate of the airport.

Talks are currently underway with the Taliban about how an evacuation is possible.

Update from August 26th, 5.48pm:

In the meantime, "Emergency" has corrected the number of injured people up to more than 60.

Six people were brought dead to the clinic of the non-governmental organization.

Update from August 26, 5:27 p.m.: Presumably,

the terrorist organization IS is behind the attack.

A member of the British Ministry of Defense told

Sky News

that “very likely” ISIS-Khorassan, an IS subsidiary in Afghanistan, was the driving force.

Update from August 26th, 5:25 pm:

According to information from the non-governmental organization "Emergency", there are at least six fatalities, plus more than 30 injured.

The organization operates a local hospital.

+

A cell phone photo shows smoke rising near the site of the explosion at Kabul airport

© dpa / XinHua

Afghanistan: Reports of attack in front of Abbey Gate and bomb at hotel near the airport

Update from August 26th, 5:05 pm:

A spokesman for the US Department of Defense on the incident: "A complex attack that has claimed many US and civilian casualties".

At least one other explosion occurred at or near the Baron Hotel in the immediate vicinity of Abbey Gate, the Pentagon said.

It is not clear from this whether this was the car bomb already reported.

Update from August 26, 4:55 p.m.:

The English tabloid

Sun

reports, referring to US officials, that a suicide bomber blew himself up at Abbey Gate on the south side of the airport before a car bomb exploded shortly afterwards.

The death toll is given as at least 13.

Meanwhile, photos showing people bleeding are being spread on Twitter.

Update from August 26, 4:45 p.m.:

The US embassy in Kabul has published a warning.

According to this, US citizens should leave the airport entrances Abbey Gate, East Gate and North Gate immediately.

"There was a big explosion at the airport and reports of gunshots are reaching us," the report says: "US citizens should currently not come to the airports and the entrances."

Update from August 26th: 4.39 p.m.:

As the

picture

reports, the evacuation mission of the Bundeswehr has been completed.

All three machines took off and all Bundeswehr soldiers came on board.

The A400M MedEvac was circled over Kabul to secure it.

+

Incident in Kabul: Several explosions are said to have occurred at the airport.

© Wali Sabawoon / dpa

Afghanistan: Apparently suicide attack in front of the airport - reports of fatalities

Update from August 26, 4:32 p.m.:

Apparently the attack also cost several lives.

Local media, such as

Al Jazeera

, report ten deaths.

Update from August 26, 4:25 p.m.:

As

CNN

reports with reference to three US officials, the explosion is said to have been a suicide attack.

The explosion occurred at one of the access gates in front of Kabul airport.

US President Joe Biden had been informed.

Meanwhile, the

Bild

reports

that no Bundeswehr soldiers were harmed.

However, three members of the US armed forces are affected.

These control the access in front of the gates.

Update from August 26, 4.10 p.m.:

The spokesman for the US Department of Defense, John Kirby, confirmed the explosion in front of the airport in Kabul (see first report).

According to the first, as yet unconfirmed information, 15 people are said to have been injured.

That first reported the

picture

.

It is still unclear whether US soldiers are among the injured.

Meanwhile, the French ambassador to Afghanistan, David Martinon, warned via Twitter of a possible impending second explosion.

Anyone who is at the entrances to the airport should get to safety as soon as possible.

+

The Bundeswehr is apparently carrying out further evacuation flights.

Meanwhile there was an explosion in front of the airport in Kabul (symbol picture).

© Marc Tessensohn

Afghanistan: USA reports explosion in front of Kabul's airport - Bundeswehr with surprising change of plan

First report from August 26th, 4 p.m .:

Kabul - Contrary to the previous plans, the German Bundeswehr is now flying to Kabul again with evacuation machines.

According to information from the

picture

, four more aircraft are to fly people out of Afghanistan *.

It also says that the planes have been landing in Afghanistan every five minutes since 3:30 p.m.

Shortly after the announcement of the surprising change of plan by the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan, the

picture reported

terrifying news.

Apparently there was an explosion in front of Kabul airport.

The US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby wrote on Twitter.

Nothing is known about possible victims so far.

The ministry will provide further details as they become available.

We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport.

Casualties are unclear at this time.

We will provide additional details when we can.

- John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) August 26, 2021

In the past few days there had been increasing warnings of terrorist attacks around the airport in Kabul. (* Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA)

Further information follows.

List of rubric lists: © WAKIL KOHSAR / afp