Biden news: Psaki shuts down GOP impeachment threat as Israel PM extends ‘condolences and deep sadness’
White House and Pentagon provide updates on response to Kabul attack as hundreds continue to be evacuated from Afghanistan
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Your support makes all the difference.Following a suicide bombing at Kabul airport that left 13 American service members dead and 18 wounded, among dozens of others killed, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett extended “condolences and deep sadness for the loss of American lives” during a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday.
After pledging to “hunt down” those responsible for the attack, the president was briefed by military officials on Friday on the likelihood of “another terror attack” and the “maximum force protection measures” underway at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Military officials also updated the president and vice president “on plans to develop Isis-K targets,” according to statement from White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
“The next few days of this mission will be the most dangerous period to date,” the statement said.
Injured US service members have been transported to the US Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
One Afghan family’s astonishing escape from Kabul to a new life in America
Psaki swats down impeachment chatter and GOP backlash on Kabul: ‘Now is not the time for politics’
Tributes paid to US Navy sailor killed in Kabul attack: ‘He was helping to save lives’
Two House Republicans introduce articles of impeachment against Secretary of State Blinken
Pentagon admits ‘thousands’ of Isis-K militants released from US prisons by Taliban
Isis-K, a sworn enemy of the Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ms Psaki told reporters on Friday that the president has made clear “that he does not want them to live on earth anymore.”
A number of Republican lawmakers have called on the president to resign over the ongoing crisis. GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy said there will be “day of reckoning.”
Ms Psaki dismissed calls from GOP lawmakers, adding that “the backdrop” of their calls “is the men and women of the US military deployed on the ground are bravely continuing to implement a mission to save lives on the ground.”
“Yesterday they lost 13 of their own and the president made absolutely clear that we’re going to hunt down, go after and kill the terrorists who are responsible,” she said. “Everyone should be supportive of that.”
US military officials have stressed that the attack has not stopped evacuations, which will continue until the end of the month as planned. US forces have evacuated roughly 12,500 people over a 24-hour period into early Friday morning, according to the White House. Since the end of July, the US has relocated approximately 110,600 people, the White House said on Friday.
Follow live updates as they happenened
GOP House leader urges Pelosi to call lawmakers back into session to pass bill to block withdrawal of troops
GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy is speaking to reporters to urge Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call lawmakers back into session and pass legislation that would prevent the US from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan until “every American is out of Afghanistan safely.”
Pentagon does not believe there was an explosion at Baron Hotel
Maj Gen Hank Taylor told reporters that officials believe there was only one suicide bomb at Abbey Gate, correcting previous reports that there was a second attack at the Baron Hotel.
Injured service members sent to military medical centre in Germany, Pentagon says
According to the Pentagon, 13 US service members were killed and 18 were wounded in Kabul attacks on Thursday. The injured have been transported to the US Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
Pentagon officials say initial confusion in chaos may have ‘misreported’ attack
“I can confirm for you that we do not believe that there was a second explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, that it was one suicide bomber,” US Army Maj Gen Hank Taylor told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday.
“We’re not sure how that report was provided incorrectly,” he said. “We do know that in the confusion ... that can cause information to be misreported or garble. We felt it was important to correct the record.”
Pentagon officials ‘prepared for and would expect’ future attacks
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the US “certainly are prepared [for] and would expect future attempts” of terror attacks in Afghanistan, echoing earlier comments this week.
Mr Kirby said he would “not get into specifics of what they are” but said officials are “monitoring threats –very, very specifically – virtually and in real-time.”
Pentagon expects to be more ‘judicious’ about troop numbers on the ground
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday that US officials will likely “become more judicious” about information released about troops on the ground in Afghanistan as the 31 August withdrawal date nears.
“I would not expect us to be giving that number out going forward, and what the capabilities are, and where they are,” he added.
Pentagon admits ‘thousands’ of Isis-K militants released from US prisons by Taliban
Breaking news from The Independent’s chief Washington correspondent Eric Garcia:
Pentagon admits ‘thousands’ of Isis-K militants released from US prisons by Taliban
The Pentagon admitted on Friday that the Taliban released “thousands” of Isis-K militants from US prisons in Afghanistan.
Pentagon committed to ‘ending this mission at the end of the month’ as 31 August deadline approaches
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the US is “still planning on ending this mission at the end of the month” as the 31 August deadline for withdrawal approaches.
“As we get closer, and we are getting closer, you’re going see us begin to make those muscle movements to pull out our troops and some of our equipment, as appropriate with any retrograde,” he said.
Officials will aim to “preserve as much capability for as long we we can” for its “security footprint” and ongoing evacuations.
“I think you’ll see us adjust as necessary to make sure that we’re achieving that proper balance,” he added. “But we’ll be able to fly out evacuees right up until the last moment.”
He said it would not speculate what will happen after “this particular mission” winds down, but “I would not envision a significant military role in that effort going forward,” he said.
“Lives are still the priority, the lives of our troops and of course the lives of the evacuees and trying to get as many out as possible,” he said.
US Army confirms 1 solider among those killed in Kabul
The US Army has confirmed that one of its service members was among the 13 US service members killed in Kabul on Thursday.
“I am heart-broken by the appalling attacks in Kabul and offer my sincere condolences to the families of the victims,” said Army chief of staff Gen James C McConville. “These fallen Service Members died ensuring that others might live. They represent the very best of America, and we continue this mission in their honor.”
The US Marine Corps had previously announced that 10 Marines were among those killed dead, and the US Navy confirmed that one sailor was also killed.
McCarthy: ‘There will be a day of reckoning'
GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy has left open the possibly of joining Republican lawmakers who have called to impeach Biden over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
When asked about his colleagues’ calls for the president to step down or be removed from office, Mr McCarthy told reporters on Friday: “If you want to be president of a free world, you have to have faith and trust and confidence. President Biden lost that. There will be a day of reckoning, and we have a constitutional right.”
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