Taliban violence against protesters is increasing, the UN human rights organisation says
The agency called on the Islamist group to stop using force, and allow peaceful demonstrations
A second international flight carrying passengers leaving Afghanistan has now departed from Kabul airport
The first flight to carry foreigners since the US pullout left on Thursday
US officials described the Taliban co-operation as businesslike and professional
Saturday will be the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the US - which triggered a two-decade conflict in Afghanistan
Today's attacks at Kabul airport mark the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan in more than a decade.
In August 2011, a helicopter carrying US special forces was shot down by Taliban troops in the Tangi Valley, about 60 miles (97km) south-west of Kabul.
Thirty US troops were killed that day.
Politicians around the world have been speaking out against the deadly bombing of evacuation efforts at Kabul airport.
US President Joe Biden is due to speak shortly and we will have his comments on this page.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described the incident as a "horrific terrorist attack" and said that evacuating "as many people to safety" as possible remained the priority.
French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement condemning "with the utmost firmness the terrorist attacks" and offering a "salute to the heroism of those who are on the ground to carry out the evacuation operations".
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab vowed the UK "would not let the cowardly acts of terrorists stop us".
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government sent its "heartfelt solidarity" to those killed in the blasts.
Confirming no Italians were hurt in the incident, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said he "strongly condemns" the attacks and expressed condolences.
Image source, ReutersFormer Afghan Vice-President Amrullah Saleh, seen here in 2019
The vice-president of the Afghan government ousted by the Taliban says he is co-ordinating resistance to the Islamist group.
"We are geographically confined to the valley, to the Panjshir Valley, but our struggle is for the entirety of Afghanistan," Amrullah Saleh told the BBC.
He said the Taliban's grip on the country was not as secure as it liked to project, and that freedom in the country was "wounded... but it is not dead".
"They are not going to last long, they are not able to break our will," Saleh said.
"We will not surrender. Should the Taliban choose to fight, it will be their choice and we are ready."
Several thousand anti-Taliban fighters are reported to be holding out against the group in the Panjshir Valley, little more than 30 miles or so north of Kabul.
Read more about the "undefeated" Panjshir Valley.
Image source, ReutersHospitals in Kabul have been treating scores of people injured in the twin blasts on Thursday.
Among them is the Kabul Surgical Centre, run by the international medical charity Emergency.
Emergency head Rossella Miccio is not in Afghanistan - but she told the BBC what hospital staff had been experiencing during the day.
"We started to receive patients 15 to 20 minutes after the first blast. We have received approximately 60 wounded plus approximately 10 dead on arrival.
"And they were all civilians, Afghan civilians, women, men, children that were trying to evacuate, so we suppose that there are many more casualties and wounded because the crowd was huge outside of the airport.
"There's a lot of confusion... A lot of people in the streets. People are searching for relatives, coming to ask if one of their daughters or sons has been taken to our hospitals because they lost contact.
"So it's really a very sad and desperate situation," Miccio said.
Image source, Getty ImagesRetired US General Mark Kimmitt, who served in the administation of George W Bush, tells the BBC: "The clear agreement between the United States - and other coalition forces - with the Taliban is that the Taliban would control the security outside of the gates.
"For the Taliban to fail in that mission is an indicator of what's to come - not just for the Taliban guarding the airport but frankly for the Taliban going forward.
"The Taliban right now are trying to demonstrate to the world at large that they can be a responsible government and can take care of not only the economy but the security as well. And if they have failed in this simple mission - they obviously have been embarrassed heavily."
Residents in Kabul have reported hearing at least one other large blast within the past hour.
Secunder Kermani, BBC Afghan correspondent, was among those who heard the explosion.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said the explosions were caused by US forces destroying equipment and said the city's residents should not worry.
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Image source, Getty ImagesGen Kenneth McKenzie, seen here in July
Top US commander Gen Kenneth McKenzie confirmed that 12 US military personnel were killed and 15 injured in the attacks in Kabul.
Gen McKenzie said:
Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Washington
General McKenzie's acknowledgement of co-operation with the Taliban to try to stop attacks highlights how things have changed.
On the one hand, it shows that the Americans have to respond pragmatically because they have in essence lost the war and the Taliban have won.
It also shows that the Taliban have changed because they're willing to have this kind of accommodating arrangement with the Americans.
The joint interest Gen McKenzie talked about is that the Americans want to have all their people out by the end of August and the Taliban want them to leave by then because they want to take control of the airfield.
They're also waiting for the Americans to be out before they announce their government. It was quite a remarkable statement.
President Joe Biden will address the nation at 1700 EST (2200 BST) White House officials have told reporters.
He has been criticised for his handling of the US withdrawal and will now have to address the first US military casualties in Afghanistan since early last year.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has offered condolences to the US over the deaths of 12 service members.
"They paid the ultimate sacrifice while helping others reach safety," Mr Raab said in a statement.
“I also want to extend my condolences to the families of all those Afghans killed or injured," he said, adding: "It is tragic that as they sought safety they have suffered at the hands of terrorists".
Mr Raab said the bombing was a "stark reminder" of the dangerous situation that the UK military is facing on the ground while working to evacuate people.
“The UK and US remain resolute in our mission to get as many people out as possible," he added.
"It is testament to the remarkable courage of our personnel that they continue to do so while under fire. We will not let the cowardly acts of terrorists stop us.”
Image source, EPAThursday's attack targetted evacuation efforts at Kabul airport
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack at Kabul airport.
The claim came in a message posted on their news outlet's Telegram channel.
The group said a suicide bomber - who they identified - detonated an explosives vest among Afghans and US forces.
US Defence officials have also said they believe regional IS militants were behind the bombing.
Asked how the bombers were able to approach US forces, Gen McKenzie said there had "clearly been a failure" from the Taliban forces checking people outside the airport.
He said the US would "try to make all our practices better as we go forward”.
Earlier the Taliban said that the blasts happened in an area under US control.
Asked when the US would stop evacuating civilians to focus on withdrawing its troops, Gen Kenneth Mckenzie declined to give a specific date.
The plan is to "maximise" the number of people evacuated "even as we prepare to draw down forces on the ground", he said. But he aknowledged that a balance had to be struck between the two.
Gen McKenzie says the US and Taliban "share a common purpose" of the removal of US troops from the country, adding that the Islamist group has been "useful to work with".
"They've cut some of our security concerns down... long term, I don't know," he said.
"It was a hard day today," Gen McKenzie said.
He said two suicide bombers "assessed to have been Isis (Islamic State) fighters" had targeted the airport and a nearby hotel.
"The attack on Abbey Gate was followed by a number of Isis gunmen who opened fire on civilians and military forces," he said. "At this time, we know that 12 US service members have been killed in the attack."
Gen McKenzie says the US is co-ordinating with the Taliban and was "doing everything we can to prepare for these attacks".
He attributed the attack to the Islamic State group.
"The threat from Isis is completely real, we expect those attacks to continue," he said.
He added that the US "will go after" those responsible.
"We'll continue to execute the mission despite this attack," says Gen Kenneth McKenzie of US Central Command.
He added about 1,000 US citizens are still believed to be in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon is giving a briefing on the day's events - we'll bring you updates.
The first, grave news is confirmation that 12 US service members were killed in the attacks at Kabul airport - with 15 more US personnel injured. Two suicide bombers carried out the attacks - both believed to be Islamic State fighters.
Image source, Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden and other senior US officials have repeatedly mentioned the Isis-K group as the one seeking to attack western targets in Afghanistan. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner sheds more light on the jihadist group.
Isis-K - or to give it its more accurate name, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) - is the regional affiliate of ISIS (or so-called Islamic State) that is active in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It is the most extreme and violent of all the jihadist militant groups in Afghanistan.
It was set up in January 2015 at the height of IS power in Iraq and Syria, before its self-declared caliphate was defeated and dismantled by a US-led coalition.
It recruits from both Afghan and Pakistani jihadists, especially defecting members of the Afghan Taliban who don't see their own organisation as extreme enough.
Twelve US service members - 11 marines and a Navy medic - were killed in the airport attack, officials tell US media.
The deaths mark the first US military casualties in Afghanistan since February 2020.