Afghanistan live news: Biden vows revenge for Kabul airport attack that killed 60 civilians and 13 US service members as Islamic State claims responsibility

American forces in Kabul are bracing for more Islamic State attacks while winding up their evacuation mission, US officials say.

Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, head of the US military’s Central Command, told a news briefing, “We believe it is their desire to continue these attacks and we expect those attacks to continue – and we’re doing everything we can to be prepared.”

McKenzie added that future potential attacks could include rockets being fired at the airport or car bombs attempting to get in. McKenzie said he saw nothing that would convince him that Taliban forces had let the attack take place.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry rejected the attacks as “incompatible with all religious principles and moral and human values”.

The ministry said it stood “with the Afghan people” and offered “condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and the Afghan people”.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry deplored “this heinous attack in the strongest terms, offer our condolences to the relatives of those who lost their lives and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.”

Egypt’s foreign ministry decried the “gruesome terrorism”, while Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned “a heinous terrorist act that contradicts all moral and humanitarian values and principles”.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to work with partners to resettle refugees in his country.

“Our hearts break for the people of Afghanistan and the loved ones of the victims, including the brave women and men of our allies,” he said.

US secretary of state Anthony Blinken has released a statement on the bombings, calling them “a devastating reminder of the dangerous conditions in which our servicemembers and diplomats are operating as we conclude the United States’ 20-year military mission in Afghanistan.”

The statement says that 100,000 people have now been evacuated from Kabul.

In case you’re just joining us, here is what we know so far about Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan – Islamic State Khorasan Province – claiming responsibility for the attack outside the Kabul airport.

Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans people trying to get into Kabul’s airport on Thursday, killing at least 60 Afghans and 12 US troops, Afghan and US officials said.

The IS branch, known as The Islamic State-Khorasan Province after a name for the region from antiquity, said in its claim of responsibility that it targeted American troops and their Afghan allies.

The Associated Press reports that 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.

An IS official Amaq news agency said on its Telegram channel that the member was named Abdul Rahman al-Logari. The name suggests the the killer was Afghan.IS also said the bomber managed to get past Taliban security checkpoints to come within 5 meters (yards) of a gathering of US soldiers, translators and collaborators before detonating his explosives. It said Taliban were also among the casualties.

The statement also said the bomber got around US security measures and that the camp that was targeted was where US forces were gathering paperwork for those who’ve worked with the military, AP reports.It is important to note that these claims have not been verified independently – they are Islamic State’s version of what occurred.

French President Emmanuel Macron has offered “his condolences to the families of the American and Afghan victims” and saluted “the heroism of those who are on the ground to carry out the evacuation operations” in response to the attacks.

He also pledged to see the evacuations “through to the end”.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “We are working to evacuate as many people as possible.

“The international community stands with the Afghan people,” he said.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi condemned “this vile and horrible attack against defenceless people seeking liberty”, while Poland’s President Andrzej Duda condemned the “act of cowardice”.

“Poland stands with our US and Afghani friends,” he said.

Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek condemned the “despicable terrorist attack”, and said: “I mourn the death of Afghans and members of the US military.”

Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide tweeted: “Innocent civilians trying to leave the country have become victims of this terrible act of cruelty.”

Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde paid tribute to the US service members: “We are grateful for all your efforts in making this historic evacuation operation possible.”

My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments in the wake of the distressing attacks in Kabul late on Thursday afternoon. It is currently nearing 4am in Kabul.

As always, please send any news you think we may have missed to me on Twitter at @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

We’ll be bringing you the news live as it happens. Here are the key developments from the last while:

Joe Biden spoke briefly at the White House on Thursday afternoon in Washington. “We will not forget,” he said, as he vowed to “hunt down” the people behind the attacks. He vowed that the US would get any Americans left in Afghanistan out of the country and said that the IS members who ordered the attacks would be found without using “large military force”.
US flags being flown at half-staff at Capitol. House speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered the flags at the US Capitol in Washington to be flown at half-staff “in honour of the US service members and others” killed in the attack.
At least 60 civilians and 13 US service members were killed on Thursday night when two suicide bombers and a gunman struck one of the main entrances to Kabul’s international airport just hours after western intelligence agencies warned of an imminent threat to the ongoing, urgent evacuation operation.
Attack marks deadliest day for US troops in more than a decade. Thursday’s attacks marked the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan since 6 August 2011, and the first military deaths since February 2020.
The US military’s central commander, General Kenneth F McKenzie, said the US is prepared to take action against those responsible for the Kabul attack. Mckenzie said that cooperation with the Taliban had probably thwarted earlier attacks. Responding to the attacks, the McKenzie insisted the evacuation operation would go on.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. An IS official Amaq news agency said on its Telegram channel that a member called Abdul Rahman al-Logari carried out “the martyrdom operation near Kabul Airport”. The name suggests the the killer was Afghan.
UK Prime minister Boris Johnson said of the UK’s ongoing evacuation effort, “we’re going to keep going until the last moment” despite the deadly attack.
A blast heard in Kabul after the terror attacks was a controlled explosion by US military who were destroying ammunition, according to a Taliban spokesperson, via Reuters.