Despite a deadly suicide bomb attack at Kabul airport on Thursday, US President Joe Biden vowed to complete the departure of American citizens and others from Afghanistan.
He also threatened to revenge the killings, telling the perpetrators, "We will track you down and make you pay."
Biden stated the Islamic State's Afghanistan offshoot was to blame for the attacks, which killed 12 American service personnel and many more Afghan civilians while speaking from the White House. He claimed there was no proof they worked with the Taliban, who currently rule the country.
Of the bombers and gunmen involved, he stated, "we have reason to believe we know who they are." " I'm not sure.
Approximately 1,000 Americans and a large number of Afghans are still attempting to flee Kabul.
Biden was informed of the strikes, which claimed the lives of scores of Afghans and occurred 12 days into the hasty evacuation and five days ahead of schedule. Some Republicans suggested that the evacuation should be extended beyond the deadline next Tuesday.
After the attacks, General Frank McKenzie, the US general in charge of the evacuation, declared, "If we can find who is associated with this, we will go after them." Despite the hazards, he believes it would be a mistake for the US to call an early halt to the evacuation.
The administration has been accused by many of the disorganized and deadly evacuations that began only after the US-backed Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban took control of the nation. So far, about 100,000 people have been evacuated.
The accusations on Thursday were guaranteed to increase political pressure on Biden, who was already under fire for not starting the withdrawal sooner. He had announced in April that the US war would be ended and that all forces would be withdrawn by September.
Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives from California, has asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call the chamber back into session to debate legislation that would prevent the US from leaving until all Americans have left. That's a long shot, and Pelosi's staff rejected such rumors as a publicity gimmick.
At the Pentagon, Gen. McKenzie said the military suspect's fighters affiliated with the Islamic State's Afghanistan branch carried out the attacks on the airport's perimeter. He predicted that more attacks will be tried.
ISIS gunmen opened fire on civilians and military forces after the suicide bomber's bombing at the airport's Abbey Gate, he claimed. According to him, there was also an attack at or near the Baron Hotel near that gate.
According to him, the strikes will not force the US to leave sooner than planned.
While we are pained by the loss of life, both American and Afghan, we will continue to carry out the mission, he said. He estimated that roughly 5,000 people were waiting for planes on the airfield on Thursday. He said that the Taliban had been cooperative and that they are not responsible for the attacks.
We expected it would happen sooner or later "McKenzie went on to say that US military commanders were coordinating with Taliban leaders to avert more strikes.
According to McKenzie, at least 15 US service members were injured in the attacks, in addition to the 12 killed.
The White House canceled Biden's first in-person meeting with Israel's new prime minister and canceled a video conference with governors regarding Afghan refugees arriving in the United States as news of the attacks emerged.
Biden had promised to get every American out of Afghanistan who wanted to go. According to the State Department, there could be as many as 1,000 Americans in Afghanistan who need assistance getting out as of Thursday.
On Thursday, Biden was set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is visiting the US for the first time since assuming office. The meeting has been postponed until Friday. Biden postponed a planned virtual meeting with a bipartisan group of governors who had expressed interest in assisting with the resettlement of Afghan refugees.
A number of US allies said that their evacuation efforts in Kabul were coming to a stop, ostensibly to give the US time to finish its evacuation operations before sending more than 5,000 US personnel out by Tuesday.
Despite tremendous pressure to extend the deadline to Tuesday, Biden has cited the possibility of terrorist strikes against civilians and US service members as a reason to stick to his guns.
The explosions occurred as the US attempted to evacuate the surviving Americans. According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, up to 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation.
Ross Wilson, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, declined to comment when asked about claims that the evacuation could end on Friday during an interview with ABC News. He made his remarks just before the terrible strikes.
For those Americans who still want to go, Wilson said there are safe methods to travel to the airport. He went on to say that some at-risk Afghans will surely not be able to leave before Biden's deadline.
Despite warnings of vehicle-borne bomb threats near the airport, the airlift continued on Thursday. In the 24 hours that ended early Thursday morning Washington time, 13,400 people were evacuated, according to the White House. 5,100 personnel were onboard US military planes, while 8,300 were on coalition and partner planes. By all accounts, this was a significant decrease from the 19,000 transported the day before.
