Afghanistan: Kabul airport attack killed 11 US marines and a navy medic, say US officials

Eleven US marines and a navy medic were killed in the Kabul airport attack, US officials said.

Suicide bombers struck the crowded gates of Kabul airport with at least two explosions on Thursday, causing a bloodbath among civilians, killing four U.S. marines and effectively shutting down the Western airlift of Afghans desperate to flee.

There was no complete death toll, but video images uploaded by Afghan journalists showed dozens of bodies of people killed in tightly packed crowds outside the airport. The BBC have reported that at least 60 people have died in the attacks.

A watery ditch by the airport fence was filled with bloodsoaked corpses, some being fished out and laid in heaps on the canal side while wailing civilians searched for loved ones. The Pentagon said "a number" of American service members were killed. Sources said at least four marines were dead and three wounded.

Several Western countries said the airlift of civilians was now effectively over, with the United States having sealed the gates of the airport leaving no way out for tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the West through two decades of war.

A Taliban official said at least 13 people including children had been killed in the attack and 52 were wounded, though it was clear from video footage that those figures were far from complete. One surgical hospital run by an Italian charity said it alone was treating more than 60 wounded.

The explosions took place amid the crowds outside the airport who have been massing for days in hope of escaping in an airlift which the United States says will end by Tuesday, following the swift capture of the country by the Taliban.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, but U.S. officials pointed the finger at Islamic State's Afghan affiliate, ISIS-Khorosan, which has emerged as enemies of both the West and of the Taliban.

A witness who gave his name as Jamshed said he went to the airport in the hope of getting a visa for the United States.

"There was a very strong and powerful suicide attack, in the middle of the people. Many were killed, including Americans," he said.

Boris Johnson has vowed to continue the evacuation effort in Afghanistan following a “barbaric” terrorist attack at Kabul airport which left multiple people dead including US troops in at least two explosions.

The Prime Minister said on Thursday the “overwhelming majority” of eligible people have already been helped to flee the Taliban by the RAF and “we are going to keep going up until the last moment” as the deadline rapidly approaches.

The Ministry of Defence said there had been no UK military or Government casualties reported at an early stage.