The Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan has claimed responsibility for the attack outside the Kabul airport.
Recall that two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to 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.
Read Also: 60 Afghan Civilians, 12 Us Soldiers Killed In Kabul Blast
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 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 the 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 the Islamic State’s version of what occurred.