Biden vows tough response to ‘IS’ Kabul airport bombing — live updates
- At least 60 civilians killed and 140 injured in twin blasts outside Kabul airport
- At least 13 US troops have been killed, Pentagon says
This article was last updated at 00:13 GMT/UTC.
White House: More than 100,000 evacuated since Taliban takeover
The White House said in a statement Thursday that more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban took over on August 14.
It’s estimated that as many as 1,000 Americans are still stranded in Kabul. Thousands of Afghans who worked with the US military are also stuck in the country, according to the International Rescue Committee.
President Joe Biden has decided to stick with a plan to remove all troops from the country by August 31.
Australia says all troops pulled out prior to Kabul attack
Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said Friday that all Australian troops had left Afghanistan prior to the attack on Kabul airport.
“I’m very pleased and relieved that our soldiers have departed from Kabul,” Dutton told the Australian Channel 9 network. “We took the decision to lift the last of our people yesterday and they are safely in the United Arab Emirates.”
“It’s a horrible, horrible day, and I just grieve like every decent person would at the loss of life, and in particular for us the loss of American lives,” Dutton said in the wake of the attack.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack.
US President Joe Biden vows to strike ‘IS’
In a televised speech Thursday evening, President Joe Biden said US military is in the process of developing “operational plans to strike IS leadership, assets and facilities,” following a bombing outside Kabul airport that killed 12 US service members, along with at least 60 Afghan civilians.
The Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate, known as IS-K claimed responsibility for the attack.
“We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission,” Biden told reporters. “We will continue the evacuation.”
“We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” Biden said, referring to those responsible.
The president said there was no evidence that IS-K colluded with the Taliban to carry out the attack.
President Biden also said US forces would continue evacuation of US citizens and Afghan allies and would meet the August 31 pullout deadline.
He defended his decision to end the US combat mission in the country: “It was time to end a 20-year war.”
What happened at Kabul airport?
Terror group “Islamic State” (IS) said in a statement that it was behind the deadly twin suicide bombings at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday afternoon.
US military officials also confirmed that “ISIS” was responsible for the attack.
General Kenneth McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said the US airlift in Kabul will continue, adding that the two bombers were “assessed to have been ISIS fighters.”
“We continue to execute our number one mission, which is to get as many evacuees and citizens out of Afghanistan,” said General McKenzie.
“ISIS will not deter us from accomplishing the mission,” he said, adding that US forces were “prepared and ready to defend against” further “ISIS” attacks.
Earlier, McKenzie had confirmed that 12 American service members were killed in, the bombings and 15 others were injured.
The death toll makes it one of the deadliest incidents for American troops for the entire 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Thousands of people have been gathering outside the building over the past several days in a desperate attempt to flee on an evacuation flight.
One blast hit the airport’s Abbey Gate, while the other targeted a nearby hotel. McKenzie said the explosions were followed by a gunfight, and that efforts to evacuate about 1,000 US citizens estimated to still be in the country would continue.
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