On 10 occasions this week AlertsUSA subscribers were notified via SMS messages to their mobile devices regarding a variety of safety and security matters. Five of these alerts dealt with the unfolding tragedy in the evacuation of Kabul.
On Thursday, AlertsUSA subscribers were some of the first in the U.S. to learn of a suicide bomber detonating near the Abbey Gate entrance to Hamid Karzai Intl Airport as civilians continued to seek to escape on flights from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
According to UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, the ISIS-affiliated bomber walked into the middle of families waiting outside the gate before detonating the explosive device. Thirteen U.S. service members including US marines and a US Navy medic were killed and more than a dozen others injured in an attack. In total, at least 90 were killed and 150 more wounded.
Video of the aftermath (GRAPHIC - Caution Urged).
There are multiple reports that US citizens who had gone to the area around the airport had been warned before the attack to "leave immediately".
Also prior to the attack, a number of countries including Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, had announced that they could no longer conduct flights.
On Friday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the United States believes there are still "specific, credible" threats against the airport after the bombing.
The attack was quickly claimed by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, which is also known by the acronyms ISIS-K, ISKP and ISK. The group is the official affiliate of the ISIS movement operating in Afghanistan, as recognized by Islamic State core leadership in Iraq and Syria.
As of the time of this report's preparation Friday evening, no one has an accurate handle on how many American citizens and green card holders remain in the country. Depending on the source, this number ranges from the hundreds, to the thousands.
According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, "The next few days of this mission will be the most dangerous period to date."
Because of security threats, the U.S. Embassy continues to advise U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates.
Caution Urged On Refugees
There is growing concern in the U.S. and EU about the dangers of taking in tens of thousands of Afghani refugees, the majority of which are military age males. Despite assurances from the Biden State Department, few have been properly vetted, if that is even possible. Long before the disastrous situation currently playing out with the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the panicked rush for the exits, European nations have been grappling with a wave of vicious immigrant attacks against women, and the attackers are coming disproportionately from ... Afghanistan.
The Austrian city of Tulln in June declared a full stop to any further refugee admissions. As the mayor made clear, that decision was aimed at Afghans, but for legal and administrative reasons it could only be promulgated in a global way. The tipping point, after a series of disturbing incidents all emanating from Afghans, was the brutal gang rape of a fifteen-year-old girl, snatched from the street on her way home, dragged away and serially abused by Afghan refugees.
Just last week, Austrian authorities arrested three Afghani refugees for the gang rape and murder of a 13-year old girl.
AlertsUSA continues to monitor the domestic and international threat environment around the clock and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages to their mobile devices, of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant.
