Is this the terrorist attack that Western countries feared enough to shut down evacuation operations? Or is this a coordinated military attack by the Taliban or others? It’s not yet clear, but an attack of some sort has been confirmed by multiple sources:

BREAKING: Explosion at Hamid Karzai Intl Airport in Kabul. One official said there were injuries among Afghans but no information yet on any US casualties. #CNN #Afghanistan #Kabul

— lisa mirando (@LisaMirandoCNN) August 26, 2021

#AFG Explosion took place outside of the eastern gate of airport and gunfire is underway. There are casualties and fatalities, multiple eye witnesses tells me.

— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) August 26, 2021

The description from BBC’s Sarwary makes it sound more like a military attack than just a suicide bomber, which is what the intel supposedly warned about. Fox’s Jennifer Griffin says it’s both:

NEW: Suicide bomber “complex SBIED attack” with firefight at Abbey Gate outside Kabul airport; Afghan casualties: US official

— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) August 26, 2021

These terrorist militias — including the Taliban — use suicide bombers for frontal assaults on occasion. An hour or so ago, there had been a report that an Italian evac plane had taken ground fire, too:

BREAKING: Reuters reports an Italian defence source says shots were fired at an Italian military plane that was flying out of Kabul.

Latest: https://t.co/OpmIfgRscy pic.twitter.com/Xbld0vmwos

— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 26, 2021

It’s just a few minutes into the event, however, and first details are usually unreliable. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby confirmed the explosion, but offered no other details:

We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can.

— John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) August 26, 2021

MORE: Pentagon press secretary John Kirby confirmed there was an explosion outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/7t8TzSjR42 pic.twitter.com/Cdt7l1lXAP

— ABC News (@ABC) August 26, 2021

We’ll update with more details as they become clear.

This could necessitate some changes to the retreat/rout from Kabul, which may have already begun. CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh reported early this morning that the Pentagon had begun to shut down evacuation operations in Kabul. With five days still left to go, a 36-hour window sounded stunning, and akin to an admission that the US was getting chased out of Afghanistan by terrorists.

Is that the case, or is this just milestone on the overall plan? Either way, as Paton Walsh points out, it involves leaving Americans and key Afghan allies behind:

BREAKING: A source tells @npwcnn the Afghanistan evacuation operation is in its final 36 hours.

There are an estimated 150 American citizens and 1,800 local US Embassy Afghan staff who still need to get to the airport.

Gates on the base are now closed due to IED threats. pic.twitter.com/6fAQLaelJ6

— Alli Hedges Maser (@AllisonLHedges) August 26, 2021

It took the Pentagon almost three hours to respond to this report, even before the attack on the airport. Kirby finally took to Twitter to deny that a 36-hour window had been imposed:

Evacuation operations in Kabul will not be wrapping up in 36 hours. We will continue to evacuate as many people as we can until the end of the mission. #HKIA

— John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) August 26, 2021

There are two different evacuations taking place, though — a civilian evacuation, followed by the Pentagon’s planned “retrograde” out of Kabul. The security requirements for a military withdrawal are considerable and need much more work to accomplish without any backup. How do we get the last units out when we have no units for perimeter security? That process will be complicated and lengthy, and the US will want to have all its civilian evacuees out before it starts.

That 36-hour deadline sounds very much like a rational target for the civilian evacuation. Kirby’s response doesn’t differentiate between the two, and to be fair, Paton Walsh’s report doesn’t either — but he certainly seems much more focused on the issues of civilians getting left behind. After the explosion/attack on the airport, they may not even have those 36 hours for the civilian evac. Time might have even run out for some of our military personnel.

Update: First report of Americans wounded:

BREAKING: At least 3 U.S. troops wounded in suicide bombing outside Abbey Gate at Kabul airport: U.S. officials

— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) August 26, 2021

Politico’s sources say it was ISIS-K, and that casualties will be “heavy”:

Sources are telling us now of heavy casualties and ISIS involvement. More coming soon as we confirm https://t.co/LBjl73U9Tb via @politico

— Ben Pauker (@benpauker) August 26, 2021

It’s still not clear whether this was a one-off suicide bombing or the opening to an assault on the airfield. We have around 5500 troops on the ground there, but if the airfield is under attack, we will have difficulty reinforcing them … or extracting them.

Update: Fox is reporting a second explosion in Kabul that targeted a US rally point for evacuations:

NEW: @JenGriffinFNC One explosion reported near Barron hotel – where Americans in past have gathered for rescue.

This makes two confirmed explosions

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 26, 2021

Let’s stipulate that updates in real time often turn out to be based on confusion and error, so keep all this in mind as the story unfolds.

Update: The suicide attack at the gate did its damage:

#BREAKING: Local media in Afghanistan: 11 people have been killed and dozens more injured in the explosion outside of Kabul airport.

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) August 26, 2021

Update: The State Department is again telling US citizens to stay away from the airport:

NEW: The U.S. Embassy issues an alert telling U.S. citizens to "avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates," following an explosion outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. https://t.co/oPL12dX38o pic.twitter.com/njUsUob9Ys

— ABC News (@ABC) August 26, 2021

Update: Uh oh …

"NATO troops ordered to leave airport gates immediately”… to where? https://t.co/ySZeNohFyf

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) August 26, 2021

Once the perimeter starts to shrink, we’re down to hours.

Update: Not just a one-off suicide attack, Kirby confirms:

Pentagon confirms US and civilian casualties at Abbey gate

Also confirms second explosion as previously reported by @JenGriffinFNC https://t.co/jfh1oESWCX

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 26, 2021

Update: We’re starting to see grisly video of the aftermath of the attack on the airport. I’ll link this for those who are interested, but just be warned that the images are very disturbing.