Thirteen U.S. service members were killed and over a dozen others injured in a terrorist attack outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on Thursday, marking a series of deaths in the massive U.S. effort to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies prior to the set withdrawal deadline on August 31 deadline, CBS reports.
According to Pentagon, a suicide bomber detonated an explosion that tore through a crowd by an entrance to the Hamid Karzai International Airport, with thousands of people desperately waiting for the chance to flee the country after the Taliban's swift comeback. Another explosion struck a nearby hotel, the Pentagon said.
As of the information available on Thursday, the total death toll counted 90 people, with 150 more wounded, an Afghan official said.
President Biden later addressed the nation, saying the bombings were the work of fighters from the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan, known as ISIS Khorasan. With this, Thursday's terror attacks marked one of the single deadliest days for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in the past 20 years.
"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. I will defend our interests and our people with every measure at my command," Biden stated, promising retaliation. "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 the moment of our choosing," he continued.