France's Macron condemns Kabul attacks with 'utmost firmness'

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned on Thursday evening "with the utmost firmness the terrorist attacks" near Kabul airport.

In a statement, he expressed "his condolences to the families of the American and Afghan victims, his support for the wounded, and salute to the heroism of those who are on the ground to carry out the evacuation operations", before promising that "France will see them through to the end".

A fresh blast rocked the Afghan capital Kabul around midnight on Thursday, AFP reporters said, hours after a deadly double suicide attack at the airport claimed by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

Macron, visiting Dublin on Thursday, promised that France would try to evacuate "several hundred" more Afghans from Kabul, adding that Paris was doing its utmost to achieve this but could offer no guarantees due to the "extremely tense" security situation at the airport.