0:57
- ABC News
- August 27, 2021
Biden vows retribution after 13 US troops killed
"We will hunt you down and make you pay," Biden said to those responsible.
0:57
U.S. officials said later that most of the 13 U.S. military service members killed were Marines and at least one was a Navy hospital corpsman, or medic, and one an Army soldier.
\"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.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/kabul-evacuation-children-ht-jt-210820_1629481645061_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
The president said that he and first lady Jill Biden are \"outraged as well as heartbroken\" for Afghan families who lost loved ones, including small children, in what he called a \"vicious attack\" that will be met with \"force and precision.\"
\"We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission. We will continue the evacuation. I've also ordered my commanders to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership and facilities,\" he said.
BREAKING: Pres. Biden says he's ordered his commanders \"to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership and facilities.\"
— ABC News (@ABC) August 26, 2021
\"We will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place we choose and the moment of our choosing.\" https://t.co/aVzjnzGos5 pic.twitter.com/kTw6VbCCSA
Biden asked to be joined in a moment of silence \"for all those in uniform and out of uniform -- military and civilian -- who have given the last full measure of devotion.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/joe-biden-afghanistan-bombing-01-rtr-jc-210826_1630014463060_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
He then took six questions from reporters in the East Room.
Asked whether he would send additional troops to Afghanistan, Biden said he did not anticipate needing more boots on-the-ground but that the U.S. can conduct retaliatory strikes against ISIS-K without large military operations.
\"I've instructed the military, whatever they need, if they need additional force, I will grant it,\" Biden said.
While saying that he bears \"responsibility for fundamentally all that's happened of late,\" the president also defended his decision to withdraw troops by the end of the month.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/kabul-airport-explosion-01-gty-iwb-210826_1629993133915_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
\"I have never been of the view that we should be sacrificing American lives to try to establish a democratic government in Afghanistan, a country that has never once in its entire history been a united country,\" Biden said just before leaving the East Room. \"Ladies and gentlemen, it was time to end a 20-year war.\"
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 marks 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.
ABC News' Shannon Crawford contributed to this report.
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