13 U.S. troops dead in ISIS Kabul attacks; Biden vows revenge

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Two suicide bombers and gunmen targeted crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport on Thursday, in the waning days of a massive airlift that has drawn thousands of people seeking to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Thirteen American service members were killed - 11 Marines, a Navy medic and an Army soldier - and 18 others wounded, among scores of Afghan casualties (60 dead, 143 wounded) in the attacks outside the airport.

U.S. officials said the complex attack was carried out by an Islamic State group known as ISIS-K.

President Joe Biden had a clear and directed message for the assailants responsible for the deadly terror attack outside of Hamid Karzai International Airport, and for anyone else who might be planning an attack.

"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," he said in an address to the nation Thursday afternoon.

Biden underscored that he has repeatedly warned that the evacuation mission in Afghanistan was a dangerous one -- but that it will continue until the end of the month, even as threats persist.

"We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission," he added. "These ISIS terrorists will not win. We will rescue the Americans in there. We will get our Afghan allies out. And our mission will go on. America will not be intimidated."

Pentagon officials confirmed earlier that two ISIS suicide bombers detonated in the vicinity of the Abbey Gate at the airport in Kabul, where U.S. Marines were conducting security checks of potential evacuees, and in the vicinity of the nearby Baron Hotel, a short distance from the Abbey Gate.

"These American service members who gave their lives, that's an overused word, but it's appropriate here, were heroes," Biden said from the White House. "Heroes who have been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others."

"They were part of the bravest, most capable, the most selfless military on the face of the Earth. And they were part of, simply what I call the backbone of America. They are the spine of America. The best the country has to offer," he added.

ISIS-K, an ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan, claimed credit for the attack Thursday afternoon. It comes days after Biden warned from the White House of on-the-ground security threats from the terrorist group known as the "sworn enemy of the Taliban."

"Every day we're on the ground is another day we know that ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport and attack both U.S. and allied forces and innocent civilians," he said at the time.

Thursday marked the deadliest day for the U.S. military in Afghanistan in more than a decade and the first U.S. military death in Afghanistan since Feb. 2020.