At least 60 people, including 12 U.S. soldiers, were killed in two bombings by IS militants at Kabul airport on Thursday afternoon.
President Joe Biden, who has been heavily criticized for his handling of the situation in Afghanistan, spoke from Washington at 11:25 pm Belgian time.
Biden first said that US soldiers killed in Kabul were “heroes”. These soldiers are “heroes engaged in dangerous and philanthropic work to save other lives,” he said.
President Biden promised to retaliate against ISIS: “We will not forget, we will not forgive. We will hunt you down, we will pay you,” he told the perpetrators. The attack is accurate, he said, adding that the United States will respond with force. “” These ISIS terrorists will not win, “he warned.
The White House landlord estimates that there was no evidence of “collusion” between the Taliban and Islamic State groups in Thursday’s attack.
Joe Biden said the evictions would continue in the coming days, despite the crisis situation in Kabul. “The United States will not be intimidated,” he said. “We will not be stopped by terrorists. We will not let our mission stop. We will continue the evacuation.”
During his speech, Biden reaffirmed that he would meet the August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, despite calls from critics, including him, to leave the party for a long time.
At the end of his speech, the Democratic President observed a minute of silence to commemorate the missing.