The Islamic State group's affiliate in Afghanistan has claimed responsibility for the attack outside the Kabul airport.
Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport on Thursday, killing at least 60 Afghans and 12 U.S. troop members, Afghan and U.S. officials said.
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In a statement verified by the SITE Intelligence Group, the IS branch, known as The Islamic State-Khorasan Province, said that it targeted American troops and their Afghan allies.
The statement carried a photo of what the militant group said was the bomber who carried out the attack. The image shows the alleged attacker standing with the explosive belt in front of the black IS flag with a black cloth covering his face, only his eyes showing.
The statement made no mention of a second suicide bomber or gunmen. The claim could not be independently verified.
IS also said the bomber managed to get past Taliban security checkpoints to come within 5 meters of a gathering of U.S. soldiers, translators and collaborators before detonating his explosives.
It said Taliban were also among the casualties. The extremist IS group has battled the Taliban, which it views as traitorous for agreeing to a peace deal with the United States.
The statement also said the bomber got around U.S. security measures and that the camp that was targeted was where U.S. forces were gathering paperwork for those who’ve worked with the military.
In a video shared by the Department of Defense, Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr. said despite the attack, the U.S. will continue the evacuation mission. He also took a moment to offer condolences to the families affected by deaths today.
"We have put more than 5,000 U.S. service members at risk to save as many civilians as we can. It's a noble mission, and today we have seen firsthand how dangerous that mission is," McKenzie said.
"ISIS will not deter us from accomplishing the mission, I can assure you that."