Overnight Defense & National Security: Terror in Kabul as explosions kill and injure hundreds

by Ellen Mitchell - 08/26/21 7:24 PM ET

It’s Thursday, welcome to Overnight Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. Subscribe here: digital-staging.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.

Multiple explosions rocked Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, killing 13 American service members and at least 60 Afghans, as well as injuring 14 other U.S. troops and more than 140 Afghan civilians.

We’ll share what we know about the attacks, further threats, continuing evacuations and Biden’s decision to stay firm on his Aug. 31 deadline for full U.S. withdrawal from the country.

For The Hill, we’re Ellen Mitchell and Rebecca Kheel. Write to us with tips: emitchell@digital-staging.thehill.com and rkheel@digital-staging.thehill.com.

Let’s get to it.

13 service members killed around airport

Thirteen Americans were killed on Thursday in two suicide bombings around the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, where U.S. forces have been working to evacuate thousands of U.S. and Afghan civilians.

Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, confirmed to reporters that 12 U.S. service members were killed and 15 others were injured. Numerous Afghan civilians were also killed and injured by the blasts, which were determined to be carried out by ISIS fighters, McKenzie said.

President Biden, speaking from the White House, later said that another service member had died as a result of the explosion, pushing the number to 13.

It was the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in roughly a decade. At least 60 Afghan civilians also died and 140 more were injured in Thursday’s bombings, for which ISIS later claimed responsibility.

A dangerous mission: “We have put more than 5,000 U.S. service members at risk to save as many civilians as we can. It’s a noble mission, and today we have seen firsthand how dangerous that mission is,” McKenzie said. “ISIS will not deter us from accomplishing the mission. I assure you of that.”

Where the explosions happened: One of the explosions took place just outside one of the gates at Hamid Karzai International Airport where U.S. personnel are processing individuals before boarding evacuation flights. A second explosion took place near the Barton Hotel, which is directly adjacent to the airfield.

“The attack on the Abby gate was followed by a number of ISIS gunmen who opened fire on civilians and military forces,” McKenzie said.

How it happened: He explained U.S. forces processing individuals just outside the airport had to be able to physically touch those seeking access for safety purposes, increasing the risk for U.S. forces on the front lines to potential terrorist attacks.

The “working assumption” is the suicide bomber was being searched by troops at the gate when they detonated their explosives, he said.

ONGOING THREATS

McKenzie said that the ongoing threat from ISIS is “extremely real” and Defense officials “believe it is their desire to continue those attacks and we expect those attacks to continue and we’re doing everything we can to prepare for those attacks.”

In the next several hours, he added, the focus will be on preventing further casualties as “typically, the pattern is multiple attacks, and we want to be prepared.” Such threats could be “imminent” and might include rocket attacks, vehicle attacks or another vest-wearing suicide bomber.

Prevention efforts: In an effort to mitigate further casualties, McKenzie said U.S. forces have reached out to the Taliban to widen the security perimeter and close roads around the airport to prevent any vehicle explosions.

Taliban checkpoints on the way to the airport have been providing what McKenzie said was an “outer security cordon around the airfield.”

No change to evacuations: He also indicated the attacks would not alter the ongoing evacuation mission, which as of Thursday was still set to conclude on Aug. 31.

“We continue to focus on the protection of our forces and the evacuees as the evacuation continues. While we’re saddened by the loss of life, both U.S. and Afghan, we’re continuing to execute the mission,” McKenzie said.

And no additional troops: But no additional troops will be sent into the country as “we assess we have the forces we need to protect ourselves there.”

About 5,400 U.S. troops are in Kabul to help evacuate roughly 1,000 Americans still left in Afghanistan, as well as tens of thousands more vulnerable Afghans seeking to flee the Taliban’s harsh rule.

BIDEN STICKS TO DEADLINE, WITHDRAWAL

President Biden on Thursday said the U.S. would carry out its plans to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of the month in the aftermath of bombings that killed a dozen Americans, while vowing to carry out strikes against the group responsible for the attacks.

“We can and we must complete this mission and we will,” Biden said in prepared remarks from the East Room of the White House. “And that’s what I’ve ordered them to do. We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission. We will continue the evacuation.”

Asked by Fox News’ Peter Doocy if he still stands by his decision to withdraw U.S. forces, Biden responded, “Yes, I do.”

US to target ISIS-K: Biden said the U.S. would target facilities of ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State that operates out of South and Central Asia, “at the place we choose, in a moment of our choosing.”

“We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” Biden said, addressing those responsible for Thursday’s bombings.

Attention shifted: Thursday’s violence scrambled the White House’s posture on the ongoing evacuation. Officials had in recent days sought to focus attention on rapidly escalating efforts to evacuate Americans and Afghan civilians who aided the U.S. war effort or who were considered vulnerable populations under Taliban rule.

How many have gotten out?: The U.S. has evacuated more than 100,000 people from Afghanistan since the end of July. The State Department said earlier Thursday there were roughly 1,000 Americans remaining in the country, roughly 700 of which are taking steps to leave.

“We will complete our mission, and we will continue after our troops have withdrawn, to find means by which we can find any American who wishes to get out of Afghanistan. We will find them, and we will get them out,” Biden said.

Lawmakers call for Congress to return, vote to delay withdrawal

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-Calif.) addresses reporters during his weekly on-camera press conference on Wednesday, August 25, 2021.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Thursday called for bringing the chamber back from recess so lawmakers can vote on legislation that would prohibit withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan until all remaining Americans are evacuated.

McCarthy’s call came after the multiple explosions around the airport in Kabul.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her leadership team called House members back to Washington earlier this week for a two-day session to adopt a $3.5 trillion budget resolution to begin the process for Democrats’ ambitious spending plan to expand social safety net programs. But the House has since gone back on recess until Sept. 20 as previously scheduled.

Pressing for action: McCarthy pressed for the House to take legislative action in the form of Rep. Mike Gallagher‘s (R-Wis.) bill, which would require the Pentagon to submit daily status reports to Congress on the evacuation of U.S. citizens and permanent residents from Afghanistan and prohibit reducing troop numbers there until the rescue efforts are complete.

“It is time for Congress to act quickly to save lives. Speaker Pelosi must bring Congress back into session before August 31 so that we can be briefed thoroughly and comprehensively by the Biden Administration and pass Representative Gallagher’s legislation prohibiting the withdrawal of our troops until every American is out of Afghanistan,” McCarthy said in a statement.

“In the meantime, President Biden must take decisive action to protect our troops, our citizens, and our allies without regard for an arbitrary deadline,” McCarthy added.

Pelosi pushes back: Pelosi said in a letter to lawmakers on Thursday afternoon that “we must and will continue to be briefed by the administration,” noting that she and other congressional leaders were briefed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier in the day.

Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill blasted McCarthy for “empty stunts” that he argued would be counterproductive.

Earlier: While in the Capitol this week, House members received a classified briefing on Tuesday about Afghanistan from top Biden administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.

Lawmakers of both parties emerged from the briefing urging Biden to delay his Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. military forces and warned that sticking to the date would risk leaving American allies behind.

Read the rest here.

MCCONNELL RIPS BIDEN

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slammed Biden after the attacks, saying he’s “concerned that terrorists worldwide will be emboldened by our retreat, by this attack, and by the establishment of radical Islamic terror state in Afghanistan.”

“Americans’ hearts are breaking for our servicemembers and diplomats. They are doing heroic work to rescue American citizens and Afghan partners in the predictably chaotic wake of the President’s decision to withdraw,” McConnell said in a statement.

“Terrible things happen when terrorists are allowed to operate freely. This murderous attack offers the clearest possible reminder that terrorists will not stop fighting the United States just because our politicians grow tired of fighting them,” McConnell added.

Fears rise for those waiting to get out

The suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport is crystalizing a harsh reality for aid groups and U.S. policymakers: thousands of Afghan allies are likely to be left behind on Aug. 31.

Advocates and Afghan Americans who spoke to The Hill about efforts to evacuate family members and vulnerable Afghans expressed extreme desperation over the imminent end of evacuation missions.

“It’s beginning to sink in that all our efforts — it’s 24/7 for nine days … it’s beginning to sink in that maybe we won’t succeed and it’s feeling dreadful,” Sunita Viswanath, co-founder of the organization Women for Afghan Women, told The Hill.

Efforts underway: Viswanath and her staff are trying to get some 500 people out of the country who they say are at imminent risk of violence from the Taliban.

Speaking to The Hill before Thursday’s bombing, Viswanath said her organization has worked closely with the State Department, one of its largest funders, to get all 500 people evacuated. But she made it clear that some are unlikely to get in planes before the deadline.

“We’re not OK,” she said of how the staff is holding up.