Afghanistan: British evacuation will continue despite 'barbaric' Kabul airport attack

26 August 2021, 17:59 | Updated: 26 August 2021, 19:35

The UK’s evacuation effort in Afghanistan will continue despite the "barbaric" terrorist attack at Kabul airport, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

Speaking after a Cobra meeting on Thursday, the PM said: "I want to stress that this threat of a terrorist attack is one of the constraints that we've been operating under in Operation Pitting, in the big extraction that's been going on, and we've been ready for it, we've been prepared for it.

"And I want to stress that we're going to continue with that operation - and we're now coming towards the end of it, to the very end of it, in any event."

Mr Johnson added: "The conclusion is that we're able to continue with the programme in the way that we've been running it, according to the timetable we've got."

He said it would be done in "as fast and efficient a manner as possible in the hours that remain to us".

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Mr Johnson went on: "The overwhelming majority of those who are eligible have now been extracted from Afghanistan.

"We're going to work flat out, the military, the Foreign Office teams, the Home Office, the Border Force teams that are there getting people through as fast as they can still.

"We're going to keep going up until the last moment, but I want to repeat what I've been saying over the last few days: we also fully expect that those who want to leave Afghanistan after this phase one, if you like, are allowed to do that by the Taliban."

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Mr Johnson also confirmed that US military personnel had "very sadly.... lost their lives" in the bombing, alongside "many" Afghan casualties.

At least 60 people were killed and 140 others wounded in the explosions, the BBC has reported.

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Two explosions are thought to have taken place at the airport's Abbey Gate and near the Baron Hotel.

An Isis offshoot, known as Isis-K, which operates in Afghanistan and is a rival to the Taliban, has been blamed for the attack.

A Taliban spokesman condemned the attacks, saying: "The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the bombing of civilians at Kabul airport, which took place in an area where US forces are responsible for security.

"The Islamic Emirate is paying close attention to the security and protection of its people."

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The explosions occurred where people are being processed as they try to escape Afghanistan now the Taliban have taken over.

More than 80,000 people looking to escape Taliban rule - both foreign nationals and Afghans - have been flown out, with the mission due to end by August 31.

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Mr Johnson would not be drawn on who was suspected to be behind the attack in Kabul, and said: "I don't want to comment on intelligence matters but I think... possibly one thing we could say is this: that there were almost certainly members of the Taliban who were themselves killed in this attack.

"And perhaps what it proves is the difficulty that any government is going to have in running Afghanistan, and threats that any government is going to continue to face."