Today's D Brief: Attack in Kabul; Evacs slowing down; VP Harris in Vietnam; Acquisition ‘Valley of Death’; And a bit more.
By Ben Watson
August 26, 2021 10:59 AM ET
The D Brief
At least one “large explosion” has hit Kabul’s main airport near its Abbey Gate, the U.S. Embassy confirmed Thursday after multiple outlets reported what seemed to have been a suicide bombing. CNN and Fox News are reporting at least three U.S. service members were wounded in the attack (which may have involved more than one explosion); FP’s Robbie Gramer reports the number of wounded Americans could be “four or more.” Reuters reports casualty numbers are expected to rise.
BTW: An attack was believed to be coming, British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told the BBC Thursday morning. (A Taliban spokesman insisted the opposite in an exchange with the Associated Press.) A range of evacuation flights out of Kabul had already stopped or were “disappearing,” the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday morning.
Many Afghan observers expected the local ISIS affiliate to attempt such an attack at just such a time as this, as Reuters reported in a short video ahead of the violence. Indeed, State Secretary Antony Blinken said Thursday, “We’re operating in a hostile environment in a city and country now controlled by the Taliban, with the very real possibility of an ISIS-K attack. We’re taking every precaution, but this is very high-risk.”
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/08/the-d-brief-august-26-2021/184878/
