President Joe Biden made a broken voice on Thursday that the United States would hunt down the attackers in the twin explosions at Kabul airport in Afghanistan and said he had asked the Pentagon to develop plans to repel them.
Biden spoke hours after the two explosions killed a dozen American soldiers and wounded others, the worst casualty day for U.S. forces there in a decade. The Islamic State (IS) took responsibility for the suicide bombing, and Biden reinforced this when he blamed the Afghanistan offshoot of the terrorist group ISIS-K for orchestrating the attacks.
“We will not forgive, we will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” he said in a statement at the White House.
Biden said US evacuations would continue. He gave no indication of a change in the US withdrawal target next Tuesday. Up to 1,000 Americans and many more Afghans are still struggling to leave Kabul.
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“I have also ordered my commanders to develop operational plans to meet ISIS-K assets, command and facilities. We will respond with force and precision at our time, in the place we have chosen and at the time of our choice, ”said Biden.
He said there was no evidence that ISIS-K colluded with the Taliban, who now control the country.
“We have reason to believe that we know who they are,” he said of the bombers and armed men involved. “Not sure.”
Happening Now: President Biden makes remarks on the terrorist attack on Hamid Karzai International Airport and the killed and wounded US soldiers and Afghan victims. https://t.co/cYjfucz0Fl
– The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 26, 2021
Biden was briefed on the attacks, which also killed dozens of Afghans and which ended up in hasty evacuation 12 days and five days before their scheduled closure. Some Republicans argued that they would extend the evacuation beyond the Tuesday deadline.
In pictures | Fatal explosions in front of Kabul airport
The US general who oversaw the evacuation, General Frank McKenzie, said after the attacks, “If we can find out who is connected, we will go after them.” He said it would be a mistake for the US to declare an early end to the evacuation despite the risks.
The government is widely held responsible for a chaotic and deadly evacuation that only began in earnest after the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government and the Taliban takeover of the country. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated so far.
Thursday’s attacks were intended to increase political pressure from all sides on Biden, who was already heavily criticized for failing to start withdrawing earlier. In April he announced that he would end the US war and depose all forces by September.
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