A strong explosion has rocked Kabul airport this Thursday, 26 August. It happened outside the east gate of the airport where there were also reports of shots being fired. The Spanish military deployed in the country are safe, a spokesperson from Spain’s Ministry of Defence confirmed. And there is no evidence that it has affected any members of the National Police force who are still there, he assured.

Pentagon sources in America have confirmed the blast. "We can confirm an explosion next to the Kabul airport," spokesman John Kirby said on Twitter, saying that they will continue to offer "additional details" once they have them.

According to the Al-Jazeera news channel there are 'at least 10 people dead'. Among the many wounded, are American soldiers. Sources point to a possible suicide attack as the source of the explosion.

During the day, numerous Western forces had warned of the risk of an attack at the Kabul airport. The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia had asked their citizens and collaborators to leave the area due to the high risk of an imminent attack by ISIS.

Countries like Turkey have already begun to remove their troops from Afghanistan, while Belgium and Denmark have announced the end of repatriations. France and Germany, on the other hand, are speeding up their operations.