Forces in Kabul on high alert

A day after a suicide bombing killed more than 100 people, the Taliban set up barriers and posted fighters 500 meters from the Kabul airport. The United States also asked the Taliban to close certain roads leading to the airport for security, and national security chiefs warned President Joe Biden that another terror attack was likely. The next few days of the operation to evacuate U.S. citizens and allies from Afghanistan “will be our most dangerous period to date,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. Afghans by the thousands still hope to leave the country to escape feared reprisal and oppression from the hardline Islamic group that deposed the elected government.

Have we learned more since the attack? Two officials said the number of Afghans killed rose to 169, one of the country’s highest death tolls from an act of terror. The Pentagon also said Friday that there was just one suicide bomber, at the airport gate, not two, as U.S. officials initially said.

Dig deeper: Read WORLD’s ongoing coverage of the crisis in Afghanistan.