13 US soldiers, 60 Afghans killed in ISIS attacks in Kabul

TIL Desk/World/Kabul/ Thirteen US soldiers were killed and 18 others injured in the attack outside the Kabul airport carried out by the Islamic State in one of the worst terrorist strikes in Afghanistan in over a year, the Pentagon has said.

The terrorist attack was carried out by ISIS gunmen, General Kenneth Franklin McKenzie, Commander of the United States Central Command, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference on Thursday, hours after the terrorists opened gunfire at American soldiers standing outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

“The attack on the Abbey Gate was followed by a number of ISIS gunmen who opened fire on civilians and military forces,” McKenzie said. By late Thursday, the US Central Command said 13 American marines died in the attack, while 18 were injured.

“I can confirm that subsequent to Gen. McKenzie’s remarks, a 13th US service member has died from his wounds suffered as a result of the attack on Abbey Gate. The latest number of injured is now 18, all of whom are in the process of being aeromedically evacuated from Afghanistan on specially equipped C-17s with embarked surgical units,” Central Command spokesperson Capt Bill Urban said.