13 US service members killed, 18 injured in ISIS attack in Kabul: Pentagon

Thirteen US soldiers were killed and 18 others injured in the attack outside the Kabul airport carried out by ISIS in one of the worst terrorist strikes in Afghanistan in over a year the Pentagon has saidThe terrorist attack was carried out by ISIS gunmen General Kenneth Franklin McKenzie Commander of the United States Central Command told reporters at a Pentagon news conference on Thursday hours after the terrorists opened gunfire at American soldiers standing outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in KabulldquoThe attack on the Abbey Gate was followed by a number of ISIS gunmen who opened fire on civilians and military forcesrdquo McKenzie saidBy late Thursday the US Central Command said 13 American marines died in the attack while 18 were injuredldquoI can confirm that subsequent to Gen McKenzies remarks a 13th US service member has died from his wounds suffered as a result of the attack on Abbey Gate The latest number of injured is now 18 all of whom are in the process of being aeromedically evacuated from Afghanistan on specially equipped C17s with embarked surgical unitsrdquo Central Command spokesperson Capt Bill Urban saidMcKenzie in the press conference had said as per the information available that time 12 US service members were killed and 15 others injured in the attackA number of Afghan civilians were also killed and injured in the attack he said adding that some of them are being treated at the airportldquoMany other Afghan civilians have been taken out to hospitals in town Were still working to calculate the total losses We just dont know what that is right now Their loss weighs heavily on us allrdquo McKenzie told reportersAfghan officials in Kabul have said that at least 60 Afghans were killed and another 143 were wounded when two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabuls airportResponding to questions McKenzie said the threat from the ISIS is extremely realldquoWeve been talking about this for several days It has now actually manifested itself here just in the last few hours with an actual attack We believe it is their desire to continue those attacks and we expect those attacks to continuerdquo he saidThe US is doing everything it can to be prepared for those attacks ldquoThat includes reaching out to the Taliban who are actually providing the outer security cordon around the airfield to make sure they know what we expect them to do to protect us And we will continue to coordinate with them as they go forwardrdquo McKenzie saidldquoWe are continuing to bring people onto the airfield We just brought a number of buses aboard the airfield over the last couple of three hours So we continue to process Well continue to flow people out The plan is designed to operate while under stress and under attack and we will continue to do thatrdquo he saidObserving that the US is still investigating the exact circumstances of the attack he said the incident occurred at a gate of the airportMeanwhile as a mark of respect for the US service members and other victims killed in the terrorist attack President Joe Biden ordered that the flag of the United States shall be flown at halfstaff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds at all military posts and naval stations and on all naval vessels of the federal governmentldquoI express my deepest condolences to the loved ones and teammates of all those killed and wounded in KabulTerrorists took their lives at the very moment these troops were trying to save the lives of othersrdquo said Defence Secretary Lloyd AustinMourning the loss of the US service members House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Congress on a bipartisan basis remains deeply concerned about the security and humanitarian situation in AfghanistanSenator Mark Warner Chairman of the Senate Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said he is closely tracking the horrifying situation in Kabul and will remain in touch with intelligence and administration officials as we learn more about todayrsquos attacksAs we await more information regarding the casualties my thoughts will be with our troops and with the innocent people killed in these brutal acts of terrorrdquo he saidFormer US President Donald Trump in a statement said ldquoMelania and I send our deepest condolences to the families of our brilliant and brave Service Members whose duty to the USA meant so much to them Our thoughts are also with the families of the innocent civilians who died today in the savage Kabul attackrdquoldquoThis tragedy should never have been allowed to happen which makes our grief even deeper and more difficult to understandrdquo he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever