13 US troops and 72 Afghans killed in Kabul airport attack
US President Joe Biden has promised to “hunt down” the Islamic State terrorists responsible for a deadly attack which claimed the lives of 13 US troops.
Over 90 people have been confirmed dead after suicide bombers detonated two explosions outside Kabul Airport yesterday evening amongst crowds of people who were trying to evacuate from the country.
At least 72 Afghans were killed in the attack, including civilians and 28 Taliban members. Twelve US Marines and a Navy Medic were reported dead and 18 soldiers are wounded.
Bodies were seen in the waste water canal beside the airport’s perimeter fence after two explosions went off in quick succession.
The Islamic State, a terrorist group which is an enemy of both the Taliban and the West, took responsibility for the attack and said one of its suicide bombers targeted “translators and collaborators with the American Army.”
In an address, Biden ordered the Pentagon to prepare retaliatory strikes against the terrorist group. He said: ”We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”
Biden said the US will continue to press ahead to meet its August 31 deadline for a full withdrawal of troops from the country. US forces were seen welding shut the gates of the airport after the explosion raising fears that the evacuation of Afghans could be at an end.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed that Britain would complete the final stages of its evacuation, saying: “It isn’t going to interrupt our progress. We are going to get on with this evacuation.”
Read more: Boris Johnson: UK ‘running out of time’ to complete Afghanistan evacuations