Desperate Afghans continued to gather in huge crowds outside Kabul’s international airport Friday, undeterred by twin suicide attacks that left at least 100 people dead a day before, including 13 American troops.
Inside the fortified airport walls, the U.S. flag was lowered to half-staff as the final evacuations carried on under heavy security as military officials warned that attackers were plotting further destruction.
Video below:
Video : Right now the situation at the #KabulAiport.
After two deadly explosion yesterday. #Kabul #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/tc6bJekAkQ— Abdulhaq Omeri (@AbdulhaqOmeri) August 27, 2021
But it seems that things went from bad to worse later in the day as a video that was sent to us shows soldiers shooting at the people who breached the fortified walls inside the Kabul airport. The video is filmed with a helmet-mounted camera of one of the American marines.
Video below:
It’s unclear whether the shooters are Afghan soldiers that stayed to help the American Army or the Marines, the third option is that they could be the Taliban’s as the Biden administration reportedly turned over security to the Taliban and even gave the Taliban a list of Americans and Afghans they know are still trapped in Afghanistan.
A side-by-side video shows the US military with the Taliban at one of the checkpoints at the Kabul airport.
Filmed with a helmet-mounted camera of one of the American Marines.
Video below:
🇦🇫⚡ Side by side with the Taliban. The US military at one of the checkpoints at the Kabul airport.
Filmed with a helmet-mounted camera of one of the American Marines.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweets: “The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the bombing of civilians at pic.twitter.com/Z5HTjZZNwR
— 💫Queen of Seventeen 1️⃣7️⃣🥃❤️🇺🇲✝️ (@AreYouAwaQe) August 26, 2021
While many who hope to somehow penetrate the Taliban checkpoints and then pass airport security are gathering despite warnings that another attack could easily occur, some have decided to give up hope and find another way out, likely by land to the Pakistan border.
Nangialay, a 34-year-old, expressed his frustration : “I will not return to the airport even if they [U.S. and U.K.] request it,” he said, underscoring the dire situation many feel they are in.
U.S. Central Command chief Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie on Thursday warned that more attacks were being planned. “We believe it is their desire to continue those attacks,” he told reporters still working in Kabul. “And we expect those attacks to continue.”
The U.S. has military confirmed that 5,000 people are waiting on the airfield for the last flights out of Kabul. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul since it fell to the Taliban, according to the Associated Press, but at least 1,000 Americans and thousands of Afghans are still waiting for what now seems like an impossible escape.
