President Joe Biden commemorated the one-year anniversary of the deadly Kabul airport bombing on Friday, issuing a statement naming the 13 U.S. service members who were killed during the attack.
On Aug. 26, 2021 – in the midst of the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan – a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest outside of the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Afghanistan. ISIS soon claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 13 U.S. service members and over 100 Afghan civilians.
Biden, one year later, described the killing as “a heinous terrorist attack” and named each individual U.S. service member killed. He declared that his administration has “redoubled our relentless global campaign against ISIS and other terrorists who threaten Americans” in the wake of the attack and highlighted two successful U.S. operations earlier this year that killed ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi and Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
“Today, I am praying for the families of those 13 fallen warriors, who lost a piece of their soul one year ago,” Biden wrote in his statement. “Our nation can never repay such incredible sacrifice, but we will never fail to honor our sacred obligation to the families and survivors they left behind. I am also holding in my heart all those who lost their child, partner, parent, sibling, loved one, or battle buddy over our two decades of war in Afghanistan. 2,461 American troops made the ultimate sacrifice. 20,744 were wounded, so many whose lives are forever marked by their injuries. It is a painful reminder that there is nothing low-cost or low-grade about war for those we ask to fight for us.”
Biden issues a statement on the one year anniversary of the Kabul airport terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. service members and over 100 Afghan civilians.
He says the U.S. has “redoubled our relentless global campaign against ISIS and other terrorists who threaten Americans.” pic.twitter.com/vG3Ra2yLUQ
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) August 26, 2022
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario, Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, Navy Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W. Soviak and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss were killed in the terrorist attack.
The bombing sparked renewed frustration at the Biden Administration regarding the withdrawal. In March, a mother of one of the service members killed in the attack ripped Biden, arguing in an Instagram post that the president was to blame for her son’s death. (RELATED: Validity Of Pentagon Findings Questioned By Families Of US Soldiers Slain In Kabul Airport Suicide Bombing)