We will hunt you down, says Biden
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden pledged to hunt down those behind the suicide bombings that killed 12 American troops in Kabul and said the US would not be deterred from its mission to evacuate thousands of civilians from Afghanistan.
However, he did not say how that could be done once the US leaves the country.
“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,” Mr Biden said.
In a solemn address from the White House, he praised the slain US servicemen as “heroes” and said the evacuation mission from Kabul would continue until the US withdrawal on August 31.
“We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission. We will continue the evacuation,” Mr Biden (right) said.
An obviously shaken president reaffirmed the August 31 deadline for all US troops to leave Afghanistan and said the US forces would fly out as many people as possible before that date.
Mr Biden also said he had seen no evidence that the Taliban colluded with Islamic State militants in carrying out the deadly attacks in Kabul.
Islamic State suicide bombers attacked crowds of people gathered outside Kabul airport hoping to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, killing dozens and wounding scores.
A health official in the previous government said the death toll could rise to 60. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack marked a deadly escalation of the drama unfolding at the airport. It is the only part of the country under foreign control following the Taliban’s return to power on August 15, and huge crowds have massed in the hope of being evacuated.
Twelve US troops were killed in the attack and 15 wounded, said General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Central Command. He said an unspecified number of Afghans were also killed.
The Taliban, a rival of the Islamic State, condemned the blasts, and said they happened in an area under US military control.
Graphic video shared on social media showed bodies lying semi-submerged in a canal adjacent to the airport, where thousands have gathered since the Taliban takeover of August 15 hoping for a flight out.
“When people heard the (first) explosion there was total panic,” a man name Milad said.
“The Taliban then started firing in the air to disperse the crowd. I saw a man rushing with an injured baby in his hands.”
The US government and its allies had raised the alarm earlier in the day to avoid the airport.