Kabul Suicide Bomb Death Toll Rises To 85, Including 28 Taliban: US-UK Discuss Counterterrorism Measures

Illustration of US soldiers with Afghans in Kabul airport area. (Wikimedia Commons/Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla)

JAKARTA - The death toll from a suicide bomb attack near Kabul international airport, Afghanistan on Thursday rose to 85, including those on the US army and the Taliban.

Two explosions rocked the area near Kabul airport on Thursday afternoon, August 26, with the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) group claiming responsibility for the attack. The death toll has risen, with Afghan health officials putting 72 people dead, including 28 Taliban members. Meanwhile, the United States military said 13 of its members were victims.

However, the United States said it would continue the evacuation mission at Kabul airport, in accordance with the August 31 deadline, while raising awareness of the possibility of further attacks.

In response to this suicide bombing attack, Head of US Military Central Command Marine General Frank McKenzie said at a press conference, the explosion was followed by gunfire. McKenzie said the threat from ISIS persists alongside other active threat streams.

"We believe it is their desire to continue with this attack and they hope it continues. I think we can continue our mission, even when we receive an attack like this. We are doing everything we can to prepare", McKenzie said, August 27.

Meanwhile, a Taliban official lamented the number of Taliban members killed in this ISIS attack.

"We have lost more people than Americans in the airport explosion", said a Taliban official, adding that the Taliban was not responsible for the chaotic evacuation plans prepared by foreign countries.

Separately, British Secretary of State Dominic Raab and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a telephone call to discuss joint counterterrorism efforts following a series of deadly attacks in Kabul, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with British Secretary of State Dominic Raab following the horrific terrorist attack in Kabul today. They agreed on the importance of continuing close counterterrorism cooperation. They also discussed international engagement on the future of Afghanistan", Price said in a statement on Thursday night.