Afghanistan: Explosion And Gunfire Outside Kabul Airport; believed to be suicide bombing

Amid lingering chaos, a massive explosion has been reported at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday. The explosion took place as a result of a suicide bombing, and it was followed by gun-fire, as per Republic's sources on the ground. Till now, at least eleven have reported dead while fifteen others have been reported injured-including three US troops outside of the airport, situated in the capital city of Afghanistan, which in the past few days have been witnessing a massive influx of people who are trying to flee the war-torn country.

US Military confirms news of blast

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby confirmed the news of the explosion on his official Twitter handle. "We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can," he wrote. The explosion comes a couple of days after intels suggested that an ISIS attack was looming over the Kabul airport. Keeping in view the intel, the US had issued and advisory, and also changed the pathway to reach the airport. 

In a new advisory issued after the blast, the US  said,"There has been a large explosion at the airport, and there are reports of gunfire. U.S. citizens should avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates. Those at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately."

Taliban fires at Italian plane

Earlier, in the day the Taliban had fired at the Italian Air Force C130 during take off from Kabul the Kabul airport. The pilot, however, had managed to avoid the shots, and fly the plane, which had on-board 98 Afghans, and a few journalists. The Italian Defense Minister had confirmed the news.