Riddle as Pentagon now says there was only ONE bomb blast in suicide attack that killed 13 US troops and reveals 'thousands' of ISIS-K prisoners were freed from Bagram by the Taliban 12 days ago after Biden abandoned base
Pentagon officials said on Friday that there was only one suicide bomber at Kabul airport on Thursday and not two, as previously claimed, adding to confusion over the attack and fears for the ongoing operation on the ground.
Speaking at a briefing on Friday, Army General Hank Taylor said: 'I can confirm that we do not believe there was a second explosion at or near the Baron hotel. It was one suicide bomber. In the confusion of very dynamic events can cause information to get confused,' he said.
He did not say whether the bomb that went off was car bomb or bomber in a vest. Both were described on Thursday on the ground and by Washington officials. The Pentagon's Press Secretary, John Kirby, was among those who confirmed both of the blasts.
At the same briefing on Friday, Kirby revealed that thousands of terrorists from ISIS-K, the group responsible for the attack at the airport, escaped from Bagram prison earlier this summer after Biden's troops cleared out from the base, leaving it to outnumbered Afghan forces to supervise them.
US troops suddenly abandoned the base overnight on July 2. The prisoners were filmed being freed by the Taliban on August 15. Military experts have pinpointed the sudden, overnight withdrawal of US troops from Bagram on July 2 as the moment the US gave Afghanistan away.
Since Thursday, the US has only evacuated 300 Americans from Kabul but up to 1,000 remain stranded. The government claims not everyone wants to leave but they can't get in touch with everyone to check.
General Taylor also revealed on Friday that the US is sharing the names of citizens and Afghan allies with the Taliban, but claims it is so the fighters ensure they can get through to the airport.
Former President Donald Trump said on Thursday night that it equates to giving them a 'kill list' of enemies and where to find them.
There is growing frustration among DC politicians who are now calling for Biden to be impeached or resign.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Friday the President must face a 'day of reckoning' for how he has handled the situation.
Speaking at a briefing on Friday, Army General Hank Taylor said: 'I can confirm that we do not believe there was a second explosion at or near the Baron hotel'. He and Pentagon spokesman John Kirby also revealed that the US is giving information to the Taliban of citizens and refugees
'Look, I'm extremely frustrated with this president,' McCarthy said in a press conference.
He said a president needs to have 'the faith, the trust, and the confidence' of Americans - which he said Biden lost on Thursday after a devastating attack on Kabul airport slaughtered at least 170 people and 13 US troops.
'When that day passes, we can take up anything that - to hold accountable for the actions that have been taken, the lies that have been given, the mis-decisions that put Americans in harm's way, and the decision to leave Americans behind,' he said.
'That choice and that answer should never be given by the president of the United States.'
He also criticized Biden over his August 31 deadline for a full withdrawal - a decision that came despite pleas from fellow heads of state and lawmakers here at home.
'Why would President Biden pick the Taliban over our allies ands over Americans?' he questioned.
Republican Rep. Peter Meijer also heckled Biden's handling of the chaos in Afghanistan late Thursday night, and urged Congress to reclaim its war powers authority to prevent future crises.
After the deadly blasts at Kabul airport Meijer posted on Twitter grieving the loss of 13 US service members in the 'horrific attack' on Kabul airport Thursday.
He said his 'heart is absolutely broken' for the families of the fallen troops and their fellow troops.
'On Tuesday I saw Marines bravely managing chaos at Abbey Gate. Today, the grave risk they took to save countless lives was made terribly clear,' Meijer wrote on Twitter, referencing a widely criticized trip he and Rep. Seth Moulton took to the airport amid the evacuation effort.
'This was a position they should not have been in, but President Biden’s reckless withdrawal gave them no other choice.'
'Congress needs to reclaim its authority over war powers to ensure such a catastrophe never happens again.'
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby confirmed there were two blasts, tweeting on Thursday: '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.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby confirmed there were two blasts in a tweet on Thursday. On Friday he backtracked and said there was only one
'We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate. We will continue to update.'
The disastrous government rescue mission became even more tragic on Thursday when ISIS bombers targeted the crowds at the airport, slaughtering 170 people with a suicide bomb that also killed 13 US troops.
It has since emerged that Biden's administration also gave a list of Afghan allies' names to the Taliban in the naïve hope they would then help get them out.
Former President Donald Trump called it a 'kill list' that all but guaranteed their deaths.
The US now one of the only nations still evacuating from Kabul amid increasing threats of another ISIS attack.
Western countries have been scrambling for the last two weeks to get their people out of Afghanistan before the deadline and their missions were hurried even more when President Joe Biden refused to extend it this week.
A US Air Force aircraft takes off from the military airport in Kabul on August 27, 2021, as the Pentagon said the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan still faces more possible attacks
In this satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies people are loading on an aircraft at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021
U.S soldiers from the XVIII Airborne Corps in position guarding the at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug 27, 2021
U.S soldiers from the XVIII Airborne Corps in position guarding the at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug 27, 2021
This is the aftermath of Thursday's attack outside Kabul airport. 170 people were killed in the bomb attack and more are imminent, American generals warned
A Taliban fighter stands guard at the site of the suicide bomb, which killed scores of people including 13 US troops, at Kabul airport
Hospitals in Afghanistan are now packed with people who were injured in the blast on Thursday
Afghans lie on beds at a hospital after they were wounded in the deadly attacks outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan
Afghans lie on beds at a hospital after they were wounded in the deadly attacks outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan
Discarded suitcases and debris outside the gate of the airport where one of the suicide bombs went off on Thursday, killing 170 people
Clothes and blood stains of Afghan people who were waiting to be evacuated are seen at the site of the August 26 suicide bomb
Relatives transport the coffin of one of the victims of the attack away from the airport on Friday morning
Thursday's suicide attacks - which claimed the lives of 13 US troops and 90 Afghans - were the final nail in the coffin for many.
Britain's evacuation flights will finish on Friday, despite there being dual nationality citizens still stuck along with some allies.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday: 'It is with deep regret that not everyone has been able to be evacuated during this process.
'The threat is obviously going to grow the closer we get to leaving.
'The narrative is always going to be, as we leave, certain groups such as ISIS will want to stake a claim that they have driven out the U.S. or the UK.'
Canada has also halted flights, leaving some citizens behind.
'The government of Canada recognizes that there are a number of people in Afghanistan, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents, their families, and applicants under programs for Afghans, a government notice sent out last night, that was obtained by CBC News, said.
Gen. Wayne Eyre, the acting chief of the defense staff, said most of the Canadian personnel still in the country left but a small contingent stayed behind to support allies on the ground who have no hope of getting out.
Biden - who crumbled under questioning on Thursday night when confronted with the airport attack death toll - refused to push back the deadline to give allied countries more time to get their people out.
'It is in our interest to leave on time, on target,' Biden said on Thursday night.
The US is relying on the Taliban's cooperation to let people through to the airport.
U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies to grant entry into the airport's outer perimeter.
The move was described as a gross security lapse, with one defense source telling Politico: 'Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list.'
Trump told Fox News: 'Now we're giving lists of Americans to the Taliban so now you just knock on the door and grab them and take them out...
'What you are watching now is only going to get worse, it can only go one way. We look like fools all over the world. We are weak, we are pathetic, we are being led by people that have no idea what they are doing,' he added.
Only US citizens and visa holders are being removed, and in the next few days, the focus will turn to removing troops and equipment.
Afghan refugees arriving at the Rota Air Base in Spain on Friday. The airbase is shared by American and Spanish military forces
President Joe Biden crumbled on Thursday night as he took questions from reporters about the suicide bomb attacks
British soldiers secure the perimeter outside the Baron Hotel, near the Abbey Gate, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. The last British flights will leave today
On Thursday, General Kenneth McKenzie, the commanding general on the ground, said he expected more bomb attacks at the airport, but that the mission would continue despite the threat.
President Biden has been widely condemned for creating the crowds at the airport that ISIS attacked by failing to get everyone out of the region before withdrawing his troops abruptly earlier this year.
It took just 11 days for the Taliban to sweep through the country that the US maintained peace in for nearly 20 years.
Thousands of men, women and children are still trying to flee the Taliban, but their hopes are fading fast as the US and its allies are packing up their rescue operations ahead of the Tuesday deadline.
People are still pouring into the canal which surrounds the perimeter of the airport, standing in waters which were yesterday filled with the blood of scores of people after a bomb tore through the crowd.
Footage from the ground revealed a scene of utter despair, with shouts and cries among the Afghans, some seen clambering up walls out of the canal and others wading through with luggage atop their heads.
In one location, dozens of Taliban members with heavy weapons about 500 yards from the airport were preventing anyone from venturing forward.
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