13 US service members killed in blasts outside Kabul airport: Reports

13 United States service members have been killed outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday following a series of explosions. The incident has also claimed civilians lives.

The news comes before the United States Department of Defense is scheduled to make an official announcement.

Earlier of Thursday, Pentagon’s spokesperson John Kirby confirmed to that multiple United States service members were killed in the incident while several others were being given medical treatment for the wounds sustained in the blast.

The death of the 13 service members on Thursday marks the first fatalities faced by the United States in Afghanistan since February last year.

The temporary halt in the killings has been majorly attributed to a deal signed between the Taliban and administration of former US President Donald Trump that included a vow from the Taliban forces to not attack the country’s troops, according to reports from the Washington Post.

Latest media reports suggest that at least 60 people have been killed in the twin bomb blasts outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday. According to reports from BBC citing Afghan officials, at least 150 people have been injured in the incident.

A tweet from John Kirby, the spokesperson of the United States Department of Defense read, “We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties. We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate”.

Multiple countries — including the United States, Australia and United Kingdom — had issued warnings to their citizens in Afghanistan urging them to steer clear of the international airport in Afghanistan’s Kabul while citing a security threat, according to US media reports.