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US President Joe Biden has pledged to retaliate against the perpetrators of Thursday’s attack outside Kabul Airport, that killed dozens, including 13 US servicemen.
Terror group Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) – an offshoot of dreaded Islamic State and a bête noire of Taliban – has claimed the responsibility for the attack.
Gunmen and two suicide bombers attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport Thursday. The attacks killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 US troops, Afghan and US officials said. As many as 18 US servicemen have also been injured in the attack.
There were two bomb blasts near the airport – one next to the Baron Hotel, and the second near Abbey Gate. After the blasts, the terrorists resorted to indiscriminate firing on unarmed masses who had crowded near Kabul Airport, desperate to escape the country after the Taliban takeover earlier this month.
“To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this -- we will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay,” Biden said on Thursday in an address from the White House.
Biden has asked his commanders to plan precision strikes against IS. “I’ve also ordered my commanders to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership and facilities. We will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place we choose and at the moment of our choosing,” he said.
Despite the attacks, Biden has vowed that US will continue emergency evacuation from the country.
“We will rescue Americans, we will get our Afghan allies, and the mission will go on. America will not be intimidated,” he said.
The US has about 5,400 military personnel helping with the emergency evacuation efforts in Kabul.
The conservative Republicans have been calling for the resignation for what they call a botched-up exit from Afghanistan.
The US has committed to withdraw from Afghanistan by anniversary of 9/11 attacks – having waged a war in the land-locked country for 20 years. As the US started withdrawing, the Taliban launched a blitz across the country, capturing Kabul on 15 August 2021.
