The United States and coalition forces are continuing to evacuate foreigners and at-risk Afghans after two bombers killed more than a hundred people on Thursday.
Collectively, around 12,500 people were evacuated on 89 flights from Hamid Karzai International Airport between Aug. 26 at 3 a.m. to the same time the next day, according to a White House official, a time frame that included the terror attack at the airport.
13 US SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED IN TWIN EXPLOSIONS OUTSIDE KABUL AIRPORT
There were approximately 13,400 people evacuated on 91 such flights in the 24 hour period before, representing a slight dip in Thursday’s numbers from the day before.
From Aug. 14 through Friday morning, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 105,000 people, and they have relocated approximately 110,600 people during the month of August.
More than 100 victims are dead after ISIS-K committed a “complex attack” at the gates of the Kabul airport, targeting thousands of people attempting to flee the newly formed Taliban regime.
Thirteen U.S. service members died in the blast, the Pentagon announced on Thursday night. The number of Afghan civilians killed is up to 113 as of Friday morning, an unnamed Afghan Health Ministry source told NBC News. The death toll is still expected to grow.
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President Joe Biden, in a press conference Thursday afternoon, vowed to exact retribution for the attacks, but he also maintained his self-imposed Tuesday deadline to withdraw all U.S. troops from 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.”
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The attack came after several Defense Department warnings about an “imminent” threat at the airport, where evacuations have been underway for Afghan refugees and U.S. citizens following the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15.
Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, told reporters on Thursday that officials are bracing for additional attacks. He also said that about 1,000 Americans remained in the country, though not all of them wanted to leave.
