12 US service members among at least 72 killed in Kabul attack

Twelve U.S. service members and 60 Afghans were killed Thursday in an attack on Kabul’s airport.

General Kenneth McKenzie, Jr., the Commander of United States Central Command, confirmed the U.S. casualties during an afternoon briefing. Those killed include 11 Marines and a Navy medic. Another 15 U.S. service members were injured.

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An Afghan official says at least 60 Afghans were killed and another 143 were wounded in the attack. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the two blasts were near an airport entrance and a short distance away by a hotel. Two suicide bombers and gunmen targeted crowds of Afghans flocking to the airport, in the waning days of a massive airlift that has drawn thousands of people seeking to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

McKenzie said more than 1,000 Americans are still left in Afghanistan.

A U.S. official said the complex attack was believed to have been carried out by the Islamic State group, whose affiliate in Afghanistan grew out of disaffected Taliban members who hold an even more extreme view of Islam.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says his group “strongly condemns” the attack and is paying close attention to security.