>> this is dw news live from berlin i men reports from kabul. the islamic state has claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings that killed dozens of people. the blast at cobbles air ripped through crowds of people hoping to flee the country. among the victims are at least 12 u.s. troops. the taliban have condemned the attacks. comip tonight, germany

declares its afghanistan mission over. moments after e blast, the last plane carrying th remaining german diplomats, and soldiers left in was being called an emergency departure. >> i'm brent goff. to our viewers, welcome. we begin tonight in afghanistan where there are reports coming in of a new series of blasts just hours after twin suicide bombings killed dozens of people and injured many more at side of the airport in kabul. at least 12 u.s. troops were among the dead. president joe biden is inspected to address the situation one hour from now. the blast ripped through crowds of afghan civilians waiting and hoping to leave the country. it came hours after officials

warned of a credible threat to the airport by a group associated with is. the taliban have condemned the blast and what may be their first failure at maintaining security in afghanistan. >> shock at kabul hospital is multiple injured people were brought in for treatment. western nations had warned of a terror attack on thousand hoping to be airlifted out of the taliban from city. >> people were standing at the airport gate when the blast happened. ambulances are carrying injured and dead. my cousin was wounded. >> it was time for evening prayers when the explosion had. i saw seven the vehicles carrying the explosion to hospital. >> the explosion was outside the

and came from the canal. >> just after the first exposure across the city, smoke be seen above the airport. -- could be seen above the airport. the state department issued a tweet. there has been a large explosion and there are reports of gunfire. u.s. citizens should avoid traveling and avoid airport gates. news then came of a second explosion. the pentagon confirmed one was near the abbey gate entrance, another short distance away. vehiclesrrived to take people to hospital. this attack only emphasizes how urgent, how necessary the evacuation effort is.

brent: let's go to our journalist in kabul. we understand there have been more explosions in kabul tonight. what can you tell us? >> about a half-hour ago, there has been at least one big last. i heard it here in the city center. there were conflicts and reports of what was. there might be several accounts, including from the taliban that was performed by special forces from the former african that apparently detonated some of their dish detonated -- detonated. the source is unclear.

brent: talk us through the earlier attacks today near the. what happened there -- near the airport. what happened there? >> it is confusing. according to several reports, there have been lasts. one, the pentagon confirmed was by a suicide bomber. he went up and detonated their. the second bomb detonated near hotel close by the pentagon also said it was unclear what was the cause for this. the islamic state has meanwhile claimed responsibility but they released a picture of only one attacker and spoke of the suicide bomber that blew themselves up. it is not clear if one man positioned another bomb and where the gunfire came from that was reported earlier.

what is clear is there have been many casualties, at least 50 people killed and at least 150 more wounded. this includes like 12 u.s. forces killed and 15 were, which makes it one of the bloodiest attacks for the u.s. in afghanistan in the past 20 years. brent: the taliban have condemned these attacks. we understand the so-called islamic state as claimed responsibility. can you confirm that? >> yes. i follow channels where the islamic state publishes claims from around the world. it took a while, but they released the photo of one attacker and a text in which they claim at least 60 peoe have been killed and hundreds more wounded they specificall said that translators and collaborators

were the target, referring to civilians who tried to leave kabul airport. brent: france with the latest in kabul we want to take the story out of washington dc our correspondent is covering it there. there has been a statement released by the pentagon. what does the pentagon have to say. >> the mission continues is the major headline here with -- the old mitt goal here is to keep the roads closed and under control with an attempt to avoid such large accumulations of people that we have seen their surrounding the cobbler over

recent days -- kabul airport over recent days. in addition to that, no recent service members are going to afghanistan. we do expect more attacks to happen. general mckenzie of central command said they are currently looking 24/7 for the people behind those attacks and that potential retaliation attacks are quite possible. brent: have you heard that there could be the possibility that these attacks could be used to justify an extension of the u.s. mission beyond august 31? >> there has been some talk of a potential extension. however, president biden time and time again said he believes the longer the u.s. stays on the ground, the higher possibility

that the forces there, and afghans who are trying to leave the country, fall victim to such attacks. if you hear what the pentagon says, that they believe further attacks are going to be carried out, that it is unlikely everything will be done to avoid an extension of the mission. the pentagon says the mission continues at a high pace so as of now some 95,000 americans and afghani have been evacuated. hundreds of americans are still there, we don't know the exact number that need to be evacuated. what is clear is the deadline as of now, august 31. that is the plan when president biden wants this mission to be completed. ask -- brent: president biden did warned that something we saw today could happen before the august 31 deadline.

the fact that he warned the american people, is he going to be given points for that or is his presidency taking a hit? >> it will certainly be on his watch. he is receiving lots of criticism right now. as our colleague just pointed out, this is one of the deadliest attacks in recent years on u.s. forces on the ground in afghanistan and just a few days before the complete withdrawal so there is certainly a lot of criticism. one of the loudest is president donald trump and the right wing but we should not forget that it was donald trump in the first place who announced the withdrawal from afghanistan. we see similar attacks on a weekly basis. it is different because the whole world is watching and the numbers of american casualties is quite high.

president biden said there is no good moment to leave the country but he could be criticized for the management and timing of the evacuations. brent: oliver sallet's with the latest. thank you. joining us for more analysis, the terrorism angle of this is from our counterterrorism policy consultant in germany. if there was credible intelligence reporting that an attack was imminent, why does it appear that nothing could be done to prevent it? >> there are two aspects to this. as her colleague mentioned, there is a flow of intelligence, alyzed properly assessed and the threat was taken seriously. however, under the circumstces, wh restricted

personnel on site and a restricted of maneuver an the chaos of the situation, this is about the area and making sure logistics can go on in an effective way which means that the person signs you -- is assigned to protect you does not take place although most countries are dependent on the u.s. as pa of this evacuation, you had to ordinate with other countries as well to the cos is not only on the side of security personnel but outside as well and the combination creates gaps in security responses. brent: the warning was this threat is coming from a group called isis-k. what is the relationship? >> the relationship is one of enmity. they are sworn and -- enemies.

isis-k is a splinter group, if you could call it that. it's core is disgruntled taliban people who feel the town in over the years and especially the last year and a half have moved away from the true values and principles and this emerged even more in 2015 when i.s. had stronghold in syria and iraq. it created this enthusiasm and an organization that not very strong in afghanistan is threatening but it comes and goes for the better part of 2019, it was in a lull since late last year for the better part of this year, it was very active and we are seeing again an uprising in terms of activity but there i definitely opponents of the taliban and a major concern for the taliban in terms

of security. >> what about the global picture? brent: if we have these terror attacks taking place in afghanistan, it would be possible for a would-be terrorist to get into the country. how concerned are you that the terror threat in the west will be higher because of what is happening right now in afghanistan? >> i don't think it will be directly higher in terms of possibly people filtering in but where i am concerned is with the spillover. western interests in central asia have been strongly affected by what is going on in afghanistan. with the spillover of the takeover and the potential conflict, how the spillover will be managed is a major concern because this could create a situation where people want to join into this now and obtain a

certain degree of training and start affiliating cells to specific groups that could in turn carry attacks against western targets. the so-called farmworker near. but you will see a big threat right now. long-term in terms of attraction , it is there. brent: do you think the taliban have what it takes in afghanistan, to contain or control isis-k? >> it's all down to their capability of crating alliances. as much as we prest the taliban as a block, it is essentially a coalition. it is a lot of tribal groups and it is not united. trying to maintain this balance between the internal needs and what they stand for and what they can discuss and negotiate

will play a big role in how they can deal with the rebels or isis-k. it will indeed come down to who can create the bigger or stronger coalition. brent: brent: as always, it is good to talk with you. we appreciate your insights tonight. thank you. there has been global condemnation of the twin suicide bombings. among them chancellor angela merkel. >> >> there have been several earnings of such attacks over the past few days. it is sad to hear this has taken place. we don't know all the details yet, but we know the terrorist targeted people waiting at the airport for a chance to leave the country. only one did safely and in freedom. that is why this is an especially despicable attack in a very, very tense situation.

my thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. brent: that was the german chancellor speaking. the german defense minister has confirmed that the army evacuation mission is now over in afghanistan. she said that german soldiers, diplomats, and members of the police force have been flown out of the country. the final plant left kabul moments after the twin suicide bombing in what was described as an emergency departure. thousands of afghans have also been evacuated with the german airlift evacuees been taken first to uzbekistan and onwards from their. defense minister describe the mission as being in the most hectic, dangerous, and sensitive phase. let's go to our chief political editor who has more on this side of the story. germany's last evacuation flight left,. does that mean the evacuation is

completed? >> the fast evacuation effort for sure and it occurs to me that angela merkel sounded rather similar today she told those people who had to be left behind that they would not be forgotten. she almost said the same in her first statement on afghanistan when it became clear that these evacuations would have to take. -- take place. clearly there was focus on what would be feasible amidst chaos. then we heard from the defense minister that old documents would remain valid. the most tangible pledge we've had so far that germany will live up to its own responsibility of getting everyone out. germany's foreign minister earlier said what exactly germany is planning to do right now.

let's take a listen. >> we are in direct contact with the german nationals who remain in afghanistan. we will keep them informed on how we can support in an organized archer. -- departure. we are pulling talks with different partners and also with the taliban. for example, we are talking about 10 you think to operate the airport so that civilian flights will be possible again in the future. another route is via the neighboring states and afghanistan. we will provide counselors at the border through our embassies and do our utmost to enable the local staff who were still in afghanistan to leave the country. >> at this moment, nobody knows whether there will be a civilian air it has been destroyed as far

as we have heard. the foreign minister is traveling to the region. that is where negotiations with the taliban are taking place. that is where germany's ambassador who keeps being referred to all the time speaking directly with them with the aim of getting safe passage but all of those exact technicalities and whether anybody will be able to make it to the border, that is all still up in the air. brent: do we know who is likely to be left behind here? >> that is a big question. when the german foreign minister says he is contact with people locally, the question is this list you learn growing in recent days and germany airlifted more people out than they initially had on that very list.

so how these contacts can be maintained and what the next steps will be is simply not in the hands of the german government right now. it is very likely a lot of that will be decided in tar. -- qatar. qtar has been -- qatar has been a key player in bringing them together. germany has pledged that contact will be held but it is a very uncertain future for those people who work for german companies, also for the german military. and for whom germany feels a very strong responsibility for. brent: our chief political editor with the latest in berlin. thank you. afghans leaving on german flights are first transported to his dentist. let's cross over to nick connelly in the uzbek capital.

good evening to you. was the latest. -- what is the latest customer -- the latest? >> we understand the latest civilian plane arrived here but we cannot speak to anyone on board because authorities are doing their best he journalists away. some of that may be about respecting privacy and the sensitivity of those who have left but authorities are very worried about provoking the taliban. they often have to deal with the taliban and their neighbors here and the worry is they might end up burdened with large numbers of refugees. nervousness here from the hosts. for now, they are renting one of the terminals for the processing of those claims, but it is pretty extraordinary. here there is no trace and

people you speak to are not following it particularly closely. brent: what happens now to the afghan nationals who made it there? what will happen to them? >> most will be transferred to germany in the next few days. it feels like these claims are being processed fairly quickly. these people are, as strange as it sounds, lucky ones. many have to think about crossing land borders are less safe. -- which are less safe. still lots of people coming. this is the end of the beginning rather than the beginning of the end. the story is going on for weeks to come. brent: thank you. how can the international

community help afghanistan moving forward? our guess is a u.s. special representative and played a key role in helping the toppling of the taliban in 2000 he is urging the united nations to stay in afghanistan, even at a time when many others are leaving. >> absolutely. the u.s. cannot leave a place like and the u.s. should not be in the business of talking to everybody. -- and the you and should be in the business of talking to everybody not only the good guys. the good guys don't need the u.n.. and now the taliban is a very important player not only in afghanistan but in the entire region. the chinese are talking to them, the russiansre talking to them

in addition to pakistan. so that is a very important player in the region. like them or not, you have to talk to. -- talk to them. brent: here is a reminder of the breaking news this hour. reports are coming in of a series of glass income coming hours after twin suicide bombings killed dozens of people outside of the airport. the taliban have condemned the attacks. the so-called islamictate has claimed response. germany has ended its afghanistan mission. a military plane germany's remaining soldiers, diplomats, and police left the country moments after those twin blasts and what is being called an emergency departure. and don't forget, you can always

get dw news on the go. just download the app from google play from the app store to get access to the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications for breaking news. you can also use the app to send us photos and videos of his -- what is happening. our coverage of the attacks continues after the break with a special edition of the day. we will be right back.

>> you are watching france 24 live from paris.ing france 24 i'm mark owen. the main headline this thursday evening -- double suicide bombing. a gunman attacked crowds at kabul airport. at least 72 people have been killed. 60 of them are afghan citizens. it has been confirmed at least 12 u.s. soldiers have also been killed. the attack appeared to target a group of afghan citizens. our correspondents were at the scene and captured these images in the immediate aftermath. we have the latest news, reaction, and analysis