Beijing has condemned ISIL – which has claimed responsibility for the Kabul airport carnage – for its "terrorist act" and vowed to work alongside the world in combating all acts of terrorism.

"ISIL has been listed, explicitly, as a terrorist organization by the United Nations Security Council, and has posed a direct threat to the safety to the Chinese nation and its people," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a regular press briefing on Friday.

Zhao added that no casualties among Chinese nationals had been reported as of Friday afternoon, while expressing deep condolences to the families of those killed.

Two blasts and gunfire rocked the area outside the airport on Thursday evening, witnesses said. Video shot by Afghan journalists showed dozens of bodies strewn around a canal on the edge of the airport, less than two weeks after the Taliban took control of Kabul.

ISIS-K, a local affiliate of the ISIL, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In the press briefing, Zhao also urged the Taliban to live up to their commitment to combat all kinds of terrorism. 

"The Taliban officials have made that clear," Zhao said. "They should stay committed to their promise of drawing a line to all terrorist groups."

(CGTN's Su Yuting contributed to this report.)

(Cover: People run away from the explosion site near the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, August 26, 2021. /Xinhua)