Military from Arizona deployed in support of Afghanistan evacuation efforts

Service members from Arizona's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base are deployed in support of evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, according to a spokesperson at the Tucson base.

Thirteen U.S. service members were killed and 18 others were injured after an explosion occurred outside Kabul's airport Thursday morning, Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, said.

The attack came as thousands of Afghan nationals and remaining Americans have attempted to flee the country since the U.S.-backed government collapsed Aug. 15 and the Taliban took over.

The bombings came five days before the Aug. 31 deadline that Biden set for withdrawing U.S. troops and 20 years after the U.S. entered Afghanistan to fight the "war on terror."

"The terrorist attacks today in Afghanistan were tragic, and the Airmen of Davis-Monthan mourn for those whose lives were taken," Capt. Elias Small from Davis-Monthan said in a statement to The Arizona Republic on Thursday. 

“The U.S. military is focused on the safe evacuation of U.S. citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and other vulnerable Afghans, as quickly as possible. Airmen assigned to the 355th Wing are currently deployed in support of this effort," the statement said. "We remain ready to support ongoing missions around the globe as directed by the president of the United States."

Small did not say how many service members from the Tucson base were deployed.

Officials at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Fort Huachuca Army base in Sierra Vista and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma said they could not comment on the deployment status of their service members. 

 A spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary of Defense declined to comment.

Reach reporter Taylor Seely at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or 480-476-6116. Follow her on Twitter @taylorseely95 or Instagram @taylor.azc.

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