Embassy of the United States, Kabul, Afghanistan is currently closed with a small group of diplomats currently relocated and working out of Hamid Karzai International Airport.  (Credit: Wikipedia Commons)

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON  DC  –  No U.S. military assets are currently guarding the American Embassy in Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul, the Pentagon said Thursday.  Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the U.S. embassy is operating out of Hamid Karzai International Airport. Kirby was responded to a reporter’s question regarding the status of the embassy during a press briefing at the Pentagon.

“So as I understand it, I — I know there’s no military assets guarding the embassy compound. The U.S. embassy is operating out of Hamid Karzai International Airport.”

-Pentagon press secretary John Kirby  Aug. 26, 2021

(Photo credit:  Gary Raynaldo  / ©Diplomatic Times ) Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby briefs reporters at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

The U.S. embassy in Afghanistan is closed after diplomatic staff were evacuated earlier this month, many by helicopter, with a small contingent of American diplomats now working out of a makeshift office at Kabul’s airport.

Another reporter asked Kirby whether he could just explicitly say there will be no U.S. diplomatic presence post-August 31st. 

” I can’t speak for that, that’s a State Department issue.”

12 U.S. Service Members Killed in Suicide Bombing Attack at Kabul Airport

The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that 12 U.S. service members were killed in a suicide bombing attack at Kabul airport. The attacks involved an explosive set off by a suicide bomber near the Abbey Gate entrance to Hamid Karzai International Airport Thursday morning.  The U.S. Embassy in Kabul sent out an alert on Wednesday evening advising U.S. citizens in Afghanistan to avoid traveling to the airport, citing an unspecified security threat amid chaotic efforts to evacuate Americans and vulnerable Afghans.  

“There has been a large explosion at the airport, and there are reports of gunfire.  U.S. citizens should avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates at this time. U.S. citizens who are at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately.”         -U.S. Embassy Kabul Security Alert posted Thursday after  deadly suicide bombing. 

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken Says U.S. Marines protect American embassies and diplomats

“Today’s bombings around the Kabul airport were a devastating reminder of the dangerous conditions in which our service members and diplomats are operating as we conclude the United States’ 20-year military mission in Afghanistan. Around the world, U.S. Marines protect American embassies and diplomats. They put themselves in harm’s way so that we can do our jobs on behalf of the American people. Even after the attack, they are doing that right now in Kabul, as they are in so many other parts of the world. And they will continue to do so as we complete this mission.”

-Secretary of State Antony Blinken statement after Kabul suicide bombing   August 26, 2021