Afghan siblings aged 13 and 7 who were caught up in Kabul suicide bombing make it to safety in the US - but still haven't been told that their mother died in the attack
Two young siblings who survived an ISIS-K suicide bomb at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul have made it to safety in the US - but are still unaware that their mother died in the attack.
Ahmad Faisal, 13, and Mina, seven, were the only members of their family to make it to safety in the U.S, and arrived in Maryland around 10 days after the August 26 bombing that killed 200 Afghans and 13 US service personnel.
The siblings were with their parents and older brother before the bombings but were separated after the ISIS-K attack occurred. In the confusion afterwards, they were able to get inside the airport and made it onto a plane with a neighbor. They were then flown to Landstuhl Hospital in Germany.
Afghan siblings Ahmad Faisal, 13, and Mina, seven, reunited with their aunt Ferishta (right) from Virginia after surviving the Kabul suicide bombings
Bombings occurred in Kabul on August 26 that killed nearly 200 Afghans - including the children's mother
The older brother was reunited with their father who then went looking for the children at different hospitals in the area, according to the children's aunt.
The children's aunt Ferishta - whose full name is not being released- is a U.S. citizen and the sister of the children's father living in Alexandria, Virginia.
It is unclear if the children or the other immediate members of their family also hold US citizenship, or if they were hoping to emigrate on Special Interest Visas (SIVs) given to Afghans who aided the war effort.
Ferishta was reunited with Ahmad and Mina at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland where the children are still receiving treatment for injuries they sustained in the bombing.
'That moment was the best moment in my life, not only for me, but also for them,' Ferishta told NBC Washington.
Ferishta told CNN that she received a call from the children's older brother during the attacks claiming he was scared and unsure of what to do.
The children's aunt known as Ferishta prepared for the children's visit as well as their immediate family after they acquired documents to come to the US
Ferishta is working to get the rest of the children's surviving family members, their father and older brother, safely into the US
'I will find a way to get you out,' Ferishta told him on the phone.
In preparation for their arrival, Ferishta had made living arrangements for her brother and his family at her home and left gifts for the children.
She claims that the children do not remember the attacks and are not aware of their mother's death. It is unclear if they have since been told.
John Bradley, a retired Air Force Lieutenant General, helped Ferishta in attempting to get the family out of Kabul by providing them with the necessary documents.
The family arrived at the airport in hopes of catching flight on the night of the deadly attack.
Retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General John Bradley worked with Ferishta to get the family out of Kabul and gave them the required documents to leave the country
'They wanted to leave and I was an avenue to get them to leave,' Bradley told NBC Washington.
'But because of that the mother is dead. And again I don't believe deep in my heart that I caused her death.
'ISIS-K caused her death. A suicide bomber caused her death.'
Efforts are still being made however to reunite the children with their father and older brother in Virginia.
'I will not take any break until I will have them with me and we are reunited, not just only my niece and nephew, but all family, my brother and other nephew as well,' Ferishta told CNN.
Ferishta's family are among tens of thousands of Afghans who have been trying to leave the country after the Taliban takeover in the wake of the US withdrawal last month.
Video footage captures onlookers of the scene at the Kabul airport in the wake of the ISIS-K suicide blast
Afghans were left wounded as a result of the bombings, with some of those injured pictured being treated in hospital
The bombing that occurred outside of the Hamid Karzai International Airport killed nearly 200 Afghans with 13 U.S. officials also killed as a result.
Abbey Gate was the main source of entry at the Kabul airport but U.S. Embassy officials warned those at the gate to leave because of the bombing.
The airport bombing were believed to be a result of an attack by an ISIS militant who walked past security and opened fire.
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