Twelve U.S. troops were killed Thursday morning in a suicide bombing followed by gunfire outside the Kabul airport, an attack reportedly claimed by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), which also killed at least 60 Afghans, according to the Wall Street Journal. Multiple countries warned of such an attack: A senior U.K. defense official told Sky News before the bombing that that there was danger of an “imminent, lethal attack” at the airport within hours, and the U.S. embassy in Kabul issued an alert Wednesday night, the AP reported, for Americans at several airport gates to “leave immediately” because of security threats. President Joe Biden has mentioned the risk of an attack several times in the last week and cited it in defense of not postponing an August 31 deadline to withdraw troops. “Every day we’re on the ground,” he said Tuesday, “is another day we know that ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport.” Since the Taliban took control of the country, thousands of people have gathered outside the airport, creating a huge target for an attack. The crowding itself has been dangerous: At least seven people have died of heart attacks, suffocation or being crushed by the crowd, including a 2-year-old who was trampled to death, according to the Associated Press and the New York Times.

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12 U.S. Troops Killed, Dozens Of Afghans Reportedly Dead After ISIS attack On Kabul airport | Forbes