British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the “barbaric” bomb attack at Kabul airport has caused “many” casualties, but that the UK evacuation operation in Afghanistan will continue for a bit longer.
The US says several Marines were among those killed when two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans outside the airport on Thursday. Johnson offered condolences to the US and Afghanistan, saying Americans “very sadly have lost their lives,” and there were also “many Afghan casualties.”
He said Britain would continue with the evacuation operation, though “we’re now coming towards the end of it.”
He said that “what this attack shows is the importance of continuing that work in an as fast and as efficient manner as possible in the hours that remain to us.”
Johnson did not say when the British effort would end. US forces are due to leave the airport by Aug. 31, and other countries’ missions will have to wrap up before then. Several countries have already announced the end of their airlifts.
