Explosion at Kabul Airport as Foreigners, Christians Evacuate // FAI ONLINE

Afghan hopefuls crowded just outside the wall of Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital of Kabul as US service members stand guard (Sky Exclusive, via wsj.com).

DEVELOPING:

21:20 Jerusalem Time: The attack on the Kabul airport is ongoing. Sporadic gunfire is reported after a third explosion caused by a vehicle-borne explosive device. Ten US Marine fatalities now confirmed. Civilian casualties have risen to 60 dead and 140 wounded and counting. Thousands of Afghans with Special Immigrant Visas, including hundreds of Christians, still trapped outside the airport. Please join us in urgent intercession now.

20:00 Jerusalem Time: Two explosions reported outside the Kabul airport, more than 40 dead, 120 wounded, many critically. 4 US Marine fatalities in the attack. US military reportedly sealing the gates of Kabul airport, Pentagon Press Sec announces withdrawal will be complete in 36 hours.

A powerful explosion rocked a crowded street outside Kabul airport’s Abby Gate on Thursday, directly across from the Baron Hotel. A local hospital reports at least 40 dead civilians and 120 injured, most of them critically. The US State Department issued a notice to staff advising of at least three injured US service members. No claim of responsibility for the attack has been published yet, although the State Department has warned repeatedly of an imminent threat from ISIS as the hurried evacuation enters its final week, having issued an urgent alert for remaining US citizens to avoid the airport altogether just hours before the bombing. German Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer suggested that the coming days will be “the most sensitive and most dangerous phase of this military evacuation mission.” The Taliban have publicly blamed ISIS for the attack and have reportedly locked down all access points around the airport, not allowing any hopeful evacuees to pass, including US passport holders.

According to the Biden Administration, over 40,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan via Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in just the last 48 hours, after US President Joe Biden confirmed on Tuesday that the US military withdrawal from the war-torn nation will be completed by August 31. Despite a frenetic airlift operation, with flights leaving the airport every 45 minutes to ferry out foreign passport holders and some Afghans with Special Immigrant Visas (SIV’s), over 10,000 people are still stranded at the airport, many of whom have formed makeshift shelters just outside of the walls. The Taliban have completely locked down the airport’s environs and access points, as NATO soldiers stand just a few meters away from the jihadist group’s elite “Red” units. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reported that the US Government is holding “daily talks” with the Taliban via multiple channels to coordinate the withdrawal.

Thursday’s deadly bombing and impending NATO withdrawal highlights the desperate situation for Afghan Christians, hundreds of whom are huddled outside the Kabul airport. World Magazine senior editor Mindy Belz reported Wednesday that one group of 100 believers, including pregnant women, children, and 22 Afghan house church leaders, have been denied access to the airport for four days, despite holding SIV’s and being assured a plane seat by the US State Dept. At the time of this publication, only 31 members of the group had been processed, while those who remain are facing a closing window of opportunity, wondering if they will be stranded by the US government and left for dead. Underground church leaders have already been targeted by the Taliban with threatening letters and house raids.

At the same time, FAI’s partner ministry GCM, which oversees a network of underground churches inside Iran and Afghanistan, has begun a two-pronged operation inside the war-torn nation. Over 1.8 million US dollars in donations from over 6,000 world-wide donors will be funneled to Afghan believers in the coming weeks. For those who wish to leave Afghanistan, their evacuations will be financed. For those who are called to remain and minister to their fellow Afghans during the present crisis, initiatives for relief, outreach and discipleship will be funded. We would ask the global Maranatha family to join us in urgent intercession and fasting in the coming days, as the US withdrawal is completed, and as both a time of great suffering and miraculous gospel advancement continues to unfold for the saints in Afghanistan.

We also implore our readers to consider following the link above to make a direct donation to Afghan Christians via our partners on the ground in GCM. 100% of your donation goes directly to Afghanistan. Although we thank God for the incredible outpouring of generosity, the need is great!

As always, we are humbled by your attention to God’s work in Afghanistan, your prayers, and your commitment to sow into the unreached harvest fields of the Middle East. Maranatha.