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President Joe Biden on Thursday met with his national security team and will continue to be updated on the situation in Afghanistan, the White House said, as two explosions rocked the area outside Kabul’s airport and casualties were confirmed.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said there were “a number of US & civilian casualties,” after what he called a “complex attack.” At least 13 people were killed and 15 wounded, said an Associated Press report citing Russian officials.
Biden’s previously scheduled Thursday meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was delayed, according to the White House, while a separate meeting with U.S. governors was canceled.
Reporters were expected to hear from Biden during his meeting with Bennett. It’s unclear now if the president will speak Thursday. The daily White House press briefing is also delayed.
As MarketWatch has reported, global financial markets
SPX,
have been largely unmoved by developments in Afghanistan. The chaotic U.S. exit from the country, however, is heightening underlying geopolitical risks, and, according to some analysts, potentially clouding the outlook for Biden’s legislative agenda.
Read: Investors ignore Afghanistan, but risk levels are on the rise
Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. is on track to finish its military involvement in Afghanistan by his Aug. 31 deadline. But he said he’d spoken with military leaders in case of a need to adjust the timetable, “should that become necessary.”
