The attacks on the Kabul airport were widely condemned. On Friday, shortly after 2 p.m., a US plane took off with the American flag draped over 13 coffins of US servicemen killed in the assaults. The assaults killed over 200 people and injured hundreds more in one of the country's worst bombs in its history.

The State Department had warned of a 'credible' threat at three gates of the Kabul airport, where US troops were helping in evacuation. The entrance of the Abbey Gate was manned by US Marines and other service members who knew they could be the target of an attack. After the warning, airport security had closed two of the gates but decided to leave Abbey Gate open.

Earlier in the day, Taliban fighters stationed at checkpoints along the airport road drove back crowds twice, but the masses returned. When the throng forced their way to the Abbey Gate for the third time, someone else joined them. A suicide bomber came up to US forces inspecting individuals while wearing a 25-pound explosive vest beneath his clothes. "He waited for his turn till the moment the US forces were going to search him. He then detonated the explosives hidden inside his vest, killing himself and others in the area. For a suicide vest, it was extremely big."  quoted a US official.


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