Both President Trump as well as Joe Biden have responded following the deadly suicide attack that took American lives.
Bide responded to ISIS-K terrorists by saying “We will hunt you down and make you pay.”
At least 13 U.S. service members have been killed in the suicide attack at Kabul airport.
Even after the deadly terrorist attack, Biden reaffirmed the August 31 deadline for U.S. troop exit from Afghanistan.
Biden also said the effort to get Americans and Afghan allies out of the country would go on.
“We’re going to try to continue to get you out. It matters,” Biden said.
UPDATE: At least 13 U.S. service members now killed in suicide attack at Kabul airport: U.S. officials
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) August 26, 2021
Biden: “No evidence of collusion” between Taliban and ISIS in carrying out deadly suicide bombing in Kabul.
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) August 26, 2021
After the bombing, a firefight took place at Abbey Gate. There were 5,000 Afghans and potentially some Americans seeking access to the airport.
A second explosion happened outside the Baron Hotel, sources say.
Biden says he has asked his U.S. military commanders for plans to strike back at ISIS branch in Afghanistan who carried out deadly attack in Kabul.
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) August 26, 2021
President Donald Trump issued a statement:
“Melania and I send our deepest condolences to the families of our brilliant Service Members whose duty to the U.S.A. meant so much to them,” Trump said. “Our thoughts are also with the families of the innocent civilians who died today in the savage Kabul attack.”
“This tragedy should have never been allowed to happen, which makes our grief even deeper and more difficult to understand,” Trump continued.
“May God bless the U.S.A.”
BREAKING: Trump issues statement on Kabul terror attacks. No word yet from President Biden. pic.twitter.com/QM2JOj0AVA
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) August 26, 2021
As President Trump said, it’s time for Biden to “resign in disgrace… What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan will go down as one of the greatest defe ats in American history.”
Joe Biden’s complete failure to understand the Taliban and provide effective preparation with the Afghan government has had horrifying consequences.
There have been two explosions near Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
The Pentagon has confirmed there are a number of U.S. and civilian casualties.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul described the explosion as “large.”
There are also reports of gunfire. This isn’t the first time that the airport as taken gunfire.
U.S. troops have been under fire, at least twice, while at Kabul’s Karzai International Airport, the NY Post reports.
Now Americans are urged to avoid travel to the airport. Both Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have been briefed on the situation.
The Taliban has reportedly set up checkpoints and they are beating people attempting to reach the airport in order to evacuate.
Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin has told members of the House of Representatives that Americans are in fact being beaten by the Taliban in Kabul.
Americans are not only being beaten under Biden’s watch. Now they’re being killed.
We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties. We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate. We will continue to update.
Advertisement— John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) August 26, 2021
More from NBC News:
The embassy had issued a security alert before the explosion urging Americans to avoid the airport: “U.S. citizens who are at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately,” the alert said.
The Pentagon has delayed a press briefing that was originally scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET.
In the last 24 hours, Western forces evacuated 13,400 people out of Kabul on 91 military cargo aircraft flights. Since the mass evacuations began on Aug. 14, approximately 95,700 people have been airlifted out of Afghanistan.
About 101,300 people have been evacuated since the end of July, including about 4,500 U.S. citizens and their families.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that there may be as many as 1,500 Americans in Afghanistan left to evacuate, a calculation he explained was “difficult to pin down with absolute precision at any given moment.”
The nation’s top diplomat added that the U.S. currently is “aggressively reaching out” to about 1,000 contacts “multiple times a day, through multiple channels of communication” to determine if they still want to leave and to give them instructions on how to do so.
Blinken added that the actual number could also be lower.
“The U.S. government does not track Americans’ movements when they travel around the world,” Blinken said in his first press briefing since the collapse of the Afghan government to the Taliban more than a week ago.
“There could be other Americans in Afghanistan who never enrolled with the embassy, who ignored public evacuation notices and have not yet identified themselves.”
#Afghanistan: There has been a large explosion at the airport, and there are reports of gunfire. U.S. citizens should avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates. Those at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately. https://t.co/q216Qs8GuB pic.twitter.com/wdd3Rtdbse
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) August 26, 2021
A new CBS News and YouGov poll show “Americans no longer believe Biden to be competent, focused, or effective as president.”
Competency has dropped from 56% in April to 49% now.
Over the same time period, focused dropped from 56% to 48% and effectiveness dropped from 55% to 47%.
A CBS News/YouGov poll finds that Americans no longer believe Biden to be competent, focused, or effective as president. pic.twitter.com/bUa5hcxWWd
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) August 23, 2021
👀 Biden job approval down a net 24 points since March in CBS News poll. https://t.co/c1dSMsSwdV
— Robert Blizzard (@robertblizzard) August 22, 2021
A majority of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, according to a new poll.
A survey found that 69 percent of polled Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the U.S.’s military presence in Afghanistan.
Only 23 percent approve of Biden’s handling. The survey was conducted by The Trafalgar Group and Convention of States Action.
