TWO suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport on Thursday, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover.
According to Afghan and US officials, the attacks, which have been claimed by the IS, killed at least 60 Afghans and 12 US troops.
Afghanistan was witnessing a peaceful transition but it seems some forces are at work to derail the process and push the country into a fresh cycle of bloodshed and chaos.
The United States has vowed to track down the perpetrators of the crime but it is clear that such investigations are not always straight and clear and often driven by political and geo-strategic motives.
The dastardly attacks were, however, avoidable as Western officials had warned of a major attack, urging people to leave the airport, but that advice went largely unheeded by Afghans desperate to escape the country in the last few days of an American-led evacuation before the US officially ends its 20-year presence on Aug 31.
The Taliban have condemned the attack and pointed out that the security of the airport was the responsibility of thousands of foreign troops that are in effective control of the area to the exclusion of the Taliban.
One fails to understand why thousands of troops could not ensure security and protection of lives in a small area.
The process of so-called evacuations should come to an end on August 31 as pledged and the airport handed over to the Taliban who can then be held responsible for any lapse in security.
