Blast in Kabul Airport : Afganistan

US President Joe Biden said that his country has common interests with the Taliban, denying the existence of information from the field about the movement's complicity with the Islamic State in the Khorasan Province, following the organization's adoption of one of the two bombings that rocked the vicinity of  two bombings that rocked the vicinity of Kabul Airport  yesterday, Thursday, killing and wounding dozens.

President Biden revealed that his country will plan a strike targeting ISIS in Afghanistan at the appropriate time, and that ISIS - which he described as the enemy - will not deter Washington from carrying out the strike, adding that it is in the interest of the Taliban to leave the US forces on time.

Biden warned that the situation on the ground in Afghanistan is still developing, stressing that his country will continue to implement what he described as the sacred obligation towards the families of American soldiers.

He added that there was information that ISIS - the sworn enemy of the Taliban, as Biden says - was planning attacks, and indicated the evacuation of more than 100,000 American and Afghan citizens, in what he described as the largest air evacuation of its kind.

Biden stressed that the United States is able to complete the task, and that the process will continue and will not be deterred by terrorists, as he put it.

The US President ordered the flag at half-staff over the White House building until August 30 in mourning for the American victims of the Kabul bombings, and the decision included the US flag at half-staff on all federal buildings inside and outside America.

The repercussions of the matter are accelerating, as the death toll has risen to at least 60 people, while more than 140 others were injured in the two explosions that took place at the eastern gate of Kabul Airport, which shook the airport's surroundings yesterday.

The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that 13 US marines were killed and 18 others were wounded, and a number of Taliban fighters who were securing the airport were wounded in the explosion.

And the ISIS-affiliated Amaq News Agency quoted on its Telegram channel what it described as military sources as saying that "a fighter from the Islamic State managed to penetrate all security fortifications and managed to reach a large gathering of translators and collaborators with the American army at Baran camp near Kabul Airport and detonated his explosive belt in their midst. As a result, about 60 people were killed and more than 100 others were wounded, including Taliban fighters."

Taliban condemns attack

Muhammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban's political office and a member of the movement's delegation to the negotiations, said in a previous interview with AJ news that the gathering of people by the hundreds at Kabul airport represented a suitable environment for such attacks to occur.

Naim added that the responsibility for the two explosions in the vicinity of Kabul Airport lies with the foreign forces that are in charge of securing the airport.

For his part, the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, blamed the United States for the two bombings that took place in the vicinity of Kabul Airport.

Zaeef said in a previous interview with Al Jazeera that Washington is responsible for the state of affairs in the country, knowing in advance that an attack had taken place, as well as for pushing people to gather in the vicinity of the airport.

For its part, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki denied reports that the United States had ended evacuation flights today, Friday, after the Kabul bombings, and added that there was no deadline for any commitment to evacuate any American who wanted to leave Afghanistan even after the military withdrawal.

Psaki said in a press conference held at the White House that it is not possible to evacuate every Afghan who wants to leave the country before the withdrawal of the US military.

She added that Washington does not trust the Taliban and does not consider them friends, explaining that coordination with the group is necessary to continue the evacuations.

The White House said in a statement that nearly 7,500 people were evacuated from Kabul on 14 US military flights, and 39 coalition flights within 12 hours yesterday, Thursday.

The statement added that the United States has postponed and facilitated the evacuation of about 100,000 people since August 14, and has resettled nearly 105,000 people since the end of last July, according to the statement.

For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken considered that the safe evacuation of more than 100,000 people from Kabul is a testament to the courage, skill and determination of all those who contribute to this vital mission.

Blinken added that the Kabul bombings serve as a reminder of the dangerous conditions in which American soldiers and diplomats operate, while the United States' 20-year military mission in Afghanistan ends.

Continuous attacks

Fox News quoted sources as saying that the attacks may be coordinated and still continue, with hundreds of ISIS militants present in areas near the airport.

For his part, the commander of the US Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie, confirmed that the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers, and the assessment indicates that they belong to ISIS.

McKenzie said - in a press conference at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense (Pentagon) - that the bombing was followed by shooting, and stressed that evacuations from Afghanistan would continue despite the attack.

He stressed that the danger of ISIS is real in Afghanistan, and he expected the organization's attacks to continue, but he stressed that his country has what it needs in Afghanistan to protect itself, and that it is determined to respond to ISIS after the Kabul airport attack, adding that he does not see that the Taliban may have allowed by attacking.

The Taliban condemned the bombing that targeted civilians at Kabul airport, and the movement's spokesman, Muhammad Sohail Shaheen, said in a tweet on Twitter that the Taliban strongly condemn the bombing that targeted civilians at the airport, which occurred in an area where US forces are responsible for security.

Shaheen added that the Taliban pay close attention to the security and protection of its people, and the circles of evil will be strictly stopped.

The United States and its allies are racing against time to complete the aerial evacuation of Americans, Western nationals and some Afghan collaborators from Kabul before the August 31 deadline for its full military withdrawal.