Biden honored US service members killed during Afghanistan withdrawal

US President Joe Biden honored US service personnel who were killed in a terrorist attack during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan two years ago.

On August 26, 2021, 13 US service members and at least 170 civilians were killed when a suicide bomber ripped through a large crowd at the Kabul Airport, a few days before the US and NATO completely pulled off its troops from Afghanistan.

“Today, Jill and I remember and mourn these 13 brave American service members and the more than 100 innocent Afghan civilians who were killed in the horrific terrorist attack at Abbey Gate. Many more were injured and will carry the impacts of their wounds and the horrors of that day for the rest of their lives.” Biden said in a statement released Saturday.

The statement added, “We will forever honor the memory of the 13 service members who were stolen far too soon from their families, loved ones, and brothers- and sisters-in-arms while performing a noble mission on behalf of our nation.”

The US President also paid tribute to the 2,461 US troops who lost their lives over two decades of war in Afghanistan and the 20,744 who were wounded.

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also honored the victims in a post on X Saturday.

“Two years ago today, we tragically lost 13 brave servicemen and women in Afghanistan,” McCarthy said in the post. “I have directed the flags at the U.S. Capitol to be lowered to half-staff in honor of these American heroes.”

Biden and his administration have been widely criticized over the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, leading to the takeover of the Taliban.

Recently, a Republican member of the US Congress, Cory Mills, introduced a motion to impeach the country’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, over the chaotic withdrawal.

Last month, the Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, criticized Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal as a “mistake of epic proportions” and an “unconditional surrender to the Taliban.”