Fallen heroes return home: Bodies of 13 US troops killed in Kabul suicide blast are now on their way to Dover Air Force Base but White House has not confirmed whether Biden will be there to meet them
The remains of the 13 US troops killed in an ISIS-K suicide blast are currently en route to Dover Air Force Base for dignified transfer, according to the Pentagon.
'The remains of the 13 individuals who were killed are on their way back to the United States, but I am not at liberty to give you their precise arrival,' Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Saturday.
Kirby declined to confirm whether President Joe Biden would attend the dignified transfer at the base in Delaware, his home state, which is the domestic intake point for US military fatalities abroad.
When asked on Friday if Biden would be present at Dover, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said: 'he would consider and want to be a part of any means of honoring the lives that were lost.'
Several close family members of the fallen troops have spoken out harshly about Biden's handling of the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Department of Defense typically places the highest priority on the privacy and desires of the immediate family, raising questions about whether Biden would be welcome at the transfers.
In a statement on Saturday, Biden said: 'The 13 service members that we lost were heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our highest American ideals and while saving the lives of others.'
'Their bravery and selflessness has enabled more than 117,000 people at risk to reach safety thus far. May God protect our troops and all those standing watch in these dangerous days,' the president added.
Dignitaries board the transport plane for a prayer before a dignified transfer at Dover in 2019. The remains of the 13 US troops killed in an ISIS-K suicide blast are currently en route to Dover Air Force Base
Left to right: Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo
Marines Corps Corporals left to right: Daegan W. Page, Hunter Lopez, Humberto A. Sanchez
Marine Corps Lance Corporals left to right: Kareem M. Nikoui, Dylan R. Merola, Rylee J. McCollum, Jared M. Schmitz
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza (left) and Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak (right)
Killed on Thursday were Navy corpsman Max Soviak, Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss, and Marines Hunter Lopez, Rylee McCollum, David Lee Espinoza, Kareem Nikoui, Jared Schmitz, Daegan Page, Taylor Hoover, Humberto Sanchez, Johanny Rosario, Dylan Merola and Nicole Gee.
The sequence of the dignified transfer starts with returning the remains of the fallen to Dover AFB as soon as possible, which typically includes a stop at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
The Pentagon's policy is to return America's fallen troops to their loved ones as quickly as possible.
Once the aircraft lands at Dover AFB, service-specific carry teams remove the transfer cases individually from the aircraft and move them to an awaiting transfer vehicle, according to information from Dover's office of Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.
The vehicles then transport the fallen to the mortuary facility at Dover for positive identification by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System and preparation for transport to their final resting place.
The transfer event, which the military does not consider a ceremony but rather a 'a solemn movement of the transfer case', can be open to the press for photography and video at the discretion of the fallen troop's family.
It was not immediately clear whether the families of the troops killed in Afghanistan would sanction press access to the transfers.
Military officials salute during a dignified transfer event in 2019 at Dover Air Force Base. The sequence of the dignified transfer starts with the fallen being returned to Dover AFB as soon as possible
Kelsey Powers places thirteen candles at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial on Saturday in Boston. The candles are in memory of the U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, including Marine Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo from nearby Lawrence
Former Marine Brian Abelli walks past a wreath after placing a rose at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial on Saturday. A ceremony was held to honor the U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan
Ingrid Hammond, center, hugs her daughter Brigit during a ceremony at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial
Family members, friends, and citizens across the country have already begun mourning the loss of the 13 young service members, who ranged in age from 20 to 31.
In Boston, community members placed flowers and candles at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in honor of the fallen heroes, one of whom hailed from nearby Lawrence.
Biden has said that another attack on the Kabul airport could be imminent, while vowing that his revenge strike for an ISIS-K attack that killed the 13 US troops is 'not the last.'
'The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks on the airport remains high. Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24-36 hours,' Biden said in a statement on Saturday.
As the U.S. military rushes into the final evacuation of Kabul airport ahead of Biden's Tuesday deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan, the president defended his drone strike, which the Pentagon said killed two ISIS-K 'planners and facilitators' in response to the deadly suicide bomb attack.
'I said we would go after the group responsible for the attack on our troops and innocent civilians in Kabul, and we have. This strike was not the last. We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay,' Biden said in the written statement.
The Taliban condemned the US drone strike, with a spokesman describing the operation as a 'clear attack on Afghan territory'.
'The Americans should have informed us before conducting the airstrike,' spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters on Saturday.
However, Mujahid later took to Twitter to disavow the interview, writing: 'Reuters has interviewed me and distorted my words. I urge the media and journalists not to take these words seriously.'
Mujahid claimed that two women and a child were wounded in the drone strike. The Pentagon says it is not aware of any civilian casualties.
The Pentagon earlier confirmed that two ISIS-K targets were killed and one wounded in the drone strike responding to the suicide attack in Kabul, after earlier confirming only one kill.
President Joe Biden has said that another attack on the Kabul airport could be imminent, while vowing that his revenge strike for an ISIS-K attack that killed 13 US troops is 'not the last'
Marines are seen manning a checkpoint at the Kabul airport on Thursday. Thirteen US troops were killed when a suicide bomb went off near this checkpoint, also killing some 160 Afghans
Soldiers are seen manning an checkpoint at the Kabul airport earlier this week. 'The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks on the airport remains high,' said Biden
Taliban patrols outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday. The Taliban has now effectively sealed off the airport, and the US Embassy is warning any Americans not to approach the gates
Afghan families live in a temporary shelter at a park in Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday after the Taliban sealed off the airport
Army Major Gen. William D. 'Hank' Taylor said at a Pentagon briefing on Saturday that two ISIS-K targets had been killed and one wounded in the drone strike in Afghanistan
The US Embassy issued another urgent alert on Saturday local time saying citizens should avoid the airport
The two killed targets were 'high profile', but were not senior members of ISIS-K, Army Major Gen. William D. 'Hank' Taylor said at a Pentagon briefing on Saturday, saying there were no known civilian casualties.
The retaliatory strike was launched a day after an ISIS-K suicide bomber blew himself up outside the walls of Kabul airport, killing 13 US troops and scores of Afghan civilians.
The terror threat at the airport remains 'very real' and 'very dynamic' Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Saturday.
'Threats are still very real, they're very dynamic and we are monitoring them literally in real time. And as I said yesterday, we're taking all the means necessary to make syre we remain focused on that threat stream and doing what we can for force protection,' Kirby said at a briefing.
The Pentagon described the two targets killed in the drone strike as a 'planner' and 'facilitator' of ISIS-K plots who were involved in planning additional future attacks in Kabul, but declined to name them.
'They lost a planner and they lost a facilitator and got one wounded. The fact that two of these individuals are no longer walking on the face of the Earth, that's a good thing,' said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Reuters had 'distorted' his words after he slammed the US drone strike
It was not immediately clear whether the targeted ISIS-K members were directly involved in Thursday's airport attack. The U.S. military had initially said one person was killed.
'They were ISIS-K planners and facilitators and that's enough reason there alone. I won't speak to the details of these individuals and what their specific roles might be,' Kirby said. He added: 'We have the ability and the means to carry over the horizon counterterrorism capabilities and we´re going to defend ourselves.'
Kirby declined to say whether all three suspects were intentional targets of the strike, saying: 'It was a single mission to get these targets and as the assessments and information flowed over time, we were able to recognize that another was killed as well and one wounded.'
Another defense official told CNN that the strike on Friday only took place after surveillance on the compound confirmed the target's wife and children had left.
Biden authorized the drone strike and it was ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet publicly announced.
The Pentagon said that 6,800 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, and that 1,400 people are now screened and inside the airport for processing and removal.
Since July, 117,000 people have been evacuated by US and NATO forces, including 5,400 US citizens, said Taylor.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the US drone strike on ISIS-K as a 'clear attack on Afghan territory' but later disavowed the statement, saying that Reuters had 'distorted' his words
'They lost a planner and they lost a facilitator and got one wounded. The fact that two of these individuals are no longer walking on the face of the Earth, that's a good thing,' said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby of the strike on ISIS-K
The Pentagon said on Saturday that two ISIS-K targets had been killed in the drone strike responding to the suicide attack in Kabul, after earlier confirming only one kill
However, hope for escape is dwindling for anyone not already inside the airport, after the Taliban sealed off access to the airport on Saturday to most Afghans hoping to leave.
The Pentagon insisted that some gates at the airport remain open and that US passport holders can still get in.
However, the US Embassy in Kabul issued an urgent alert on Saturday warning citizens not to approach the airport and avoid airport gates.
'U.S. citizens who are at the Abbey gate, East gate, North gate or the New Ministry of Interior gate now should leave immediately,' the Embassy said in the alert.
Mujahid, the Taliban's main spokesman said on Saturday they would announce a new government for Afghanistan in the coming week.
He appealed to the United States and other Western nations to maintain diplomatic relations after their withdrawal, which he expected would be completed 'very soon'.
There is mounting frustration in Kabul at the severe economic hardship caused by a plummeting currency and rising food prices, with banks still shuttered two weeks after the fall of the city to the Taliban.
Mujahid said officials had already been appointed to run key institutions including the ministries of public health and education and the central bank.
Meanwhile, the US rescue operation is entering in its final hours ahead of President Joe Biden's Tuesday deadline for withdrawal, and US troops will now shift their focus to the final removal or destruction of equipment and extraction of service members.
Most NATO nations have now flown out their troops after two decades in Afghanistan, winding down a frantic airlift that Western leaders acknowledged was still leaving many of their citizens and local allies behind.
The United States, which says the round-the-clock flights have evacuated more than 100,000 people since the Taliban claimed Kabul on August 15, was keeping up airlifts ahead of Biden's Tuesday deadline.
....nuke 4 or 5 Afghan cities...and tell The Taliban that Kabul is next....
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