Update 3:30 p.m. ET: Now it's 12 U.S. service members killed and 15 wounded.
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Update 2:08 p.m. ET: Fox News is now saying TEN Marines and soldiers have been killed.
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So those two suicide bombings happened at the packed Kabul airport during evacuations earlier today and we've been waiting to see if any Americans were killed in them. Turns out "a number" of U.S. soldiers were killed!
Pentagon Press Sec. John Kirby just posted this statement to Twitter:
What exactly is "a number"? We don't know. At the moment the Wall Street Journal is saying 4 dead and 3 wounded, citing a source:
The U.S. ambassador in Kabul has told staff there that four U.S. Marines were killed in an explosion at the city's airport and three wounded, a U.S. official with knowledge of the briefing said. Two explosions ripped through crowds of Afghans trying to enter the airport on Thursday.
At least three U.S. troops were injured, a U.S. official said. Witnesses reported multiple fatalities among the Afghans, many of whom were trying to enter the airport because they had assisted U.S.-led coalition efforts and feared persecution by the Taliban.
Western governments have repeatedly warned of an imminent attack by Islamic State and urged their citizens not to approach the airport. After the blasts, the U.S. Embassy told all Americans to leave the entrances to the airport immediately.
