Two explosions at the Kabul airport killed 12 US service members and left another 15 injured, the Pentagon said. Reports indicate that at least 60 Afghan civilians were also killed in the attacks, which are believed to have been carried out by the Islamic State.
Joe Biden addressed the nation, vowing that the US would make Isis-K “pay” fort the attacks. His message to the attackers: “We will not forgive, we will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.” He also said the US would continue the evacuation mission, with the goal of withdrawing by 31 August, as planned.
Asked how much responsibility he was willing to take for the way the withdrawal has unfolded, Biden said he’ll bear some. “I bear responsibility for fundamentally all that’s happened of late,” he said. “But here’s the deal … you know as well as I do that the former president made a deal with the Taliban.”
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy demanded that speaker Nancy Pelosi call the chamber back into session to receive a briefing on Afghanistan. “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,” McCarthy said in a statement. But in her own statement on the attacks, Pelosi gave no indication she plans to call the House back into session.
Seven police officers who were attacked during the Capitol insurrection filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and far-right groups. The lawsuit alleges Trump “worked with white supremacists, violent extremist groups, and campaign supporters to violate the Ku Klux Klan Act, and commit acts of domestic terrorism in an unlawful effort to stay in power”.
– Maanvi Singh and Joan E Greve
More updates on the situation in Afghanistan here:
Officer who shot and killed rioter Ashli Babbitt: 'I was doing my job'
The officer who shot and killed rioter Ashli Babbitt said he fired his gun in order to “save the lives of members of Congress and myself and my fellow officers.” Babbitt, 35, was killed amid the mob trying to breach the House of Representatives during the 6 January attack on the US capitol.
Babbitt’s death has become a rallying cry for far-right activists. Michael Byrd told NBC News’s Lester Holt he has had to hide since 6 January and has received a flood of death threats and racist attacks after his name was leaked on right-wing forums and websites.
“They talked about killing me, cutting off my head,” Byrd said.“It’s all disheartening, because I know I was doing my job.”
On the day of the riot, when the mob pushed toward the glass doors leading to the lobby of the House of Representatives, where lawmakers and staff were holed up Byrd and others barricaded the entrance.
“Once we barricaded the doors, we were essentially trapped where we were,” Byrd said, publicly for the first time since the attack on the US Capitol. “There was no way to retreat. No other way to get out.”
When the mob kept pushing forward, he fired. He said it was “impossible” to see what was on the other side of the doors because it was barricaded with furniture. When Babbitt started climbing through a shattered pane in the doors, “I could not fully see her hands or what was in the backpack or what the intentions are,” Byrd said. But the rioters had “shown violence leading up to that point” he said.
NBC reports that it was the first time Byrd has discharged his weapon in 28 years of service on the force. Babbitt’s family has signaled they will file a civil lawsuit against the Capitol Police over her death.
West Virginia activists urge Manchin to eliminate the filibuster and pass voting rights bills
Sam Levine
Activists organized a motorcade in West Virginia on Thursday to pressure senator Joe Manchin to support eliminating the filibuster, a senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance legislation.
The 151 car motorcade - meant to symbolize the 151 years since the signing of the 15th amendment - traveled from Madison, West Virginia to Charleston, the state capital. The motorcade started in Madison as a nod to the 100 year anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain, the 1921 uprising of coal miners who demanded better labor conditions.
The effort, led by the Poor People’s Campaign, a civil rights organization known for its anti-poverty and voting rights work, asked Manchin to drop his support for the “coward’s filibuster” and to pass two critical voting rights bills as well as a $15 minimum wage.
“We want our concerns to be known to Sen. Manchin. One hundred years ago, our ancestors in these hills fought for the right of labor, of a dignified work area, to get paid an actual living wage and not work under company scrip,” said June Spruce, an organizer from Common Defense, a veterans grassroots group, according to West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “We are here demanding a livable wage. Again.”
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, speaks at the White House on Thursday. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP
Psaki clarified Biden’s message to Isis-K that the US would “hunt you down and make you pay”.
“What we are talking about here is avenging these deaths from terrorists,” she said. “We’re not talking about sending tens of thousands of troops back for an endless war that we’ve been fighting for 20 years.”
In a press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki expounded on Biden’s comments that the US would strike back at Isis-K:
What does today’s attack say about the US’ ability to the terrorist threat in check after the withdrawal?
“The threat that is posed by having thousands of US military on the ground, still currently on the ground, implementing a mission … they are a target. People gathering around the airport that is a threat that is a target,” Psaki said. “But Isis’s ability to target individuals who are on the ground in Afghanistan is very different from Isis’s ability to attack the United States:
“And we will maintain and continue over the horizon capacity with presence in partnership with countries in the region to ensure that they don’t develop that ability,” she said.
Psaki also noted that Biden did not plan on extending the mission beyond the 31 August deadline despite today’s attacks: “He relies on the advice of his millitary commanders and they continue to believe it is essential to get out by the 31st.”
Biden said that although millions of Afghans would like to leave and come to the US, he can’t get them all out.
“I know of no conflict – as a student of history – no conflict where, when a war is ended, one side was able to guarantee that everyone they wanted to be extracted in that country would get out,” he said.
Asked how much responsibility he was willing to take for the way the withdrawal has unfolded, Biden said – he’ll bear some.
“I bear responsibility for fundamentally all that’s happened of late,” he said. “But here’s the deal … you know as well as I do that the former president made a deal with the Taliban.”
On the dependence on the Taliban to help secure the perimeter of the Kabul airport. Biden said, “It’s not a matter of trust. It’s a matter of mutual self-interest.”
“We’re just counting on their self-interest to continue to generate their activities. And it’s in their self-interest that we leave when we said and that we get as many people out as we can,” he said. “They’re not good guys, the Taliban. I’m not suggesting that at all.”
In response to the attack, Biden said he has asked commanders to strike back.
“I’ve also ordered my commanders to develop operational plans to strike Isis key assets, leadership, and facilities,” he said. “We will respond with force and precision at our time at a place we choose in a moment of our choosing.”
But the president did not provide many details on what military presence the US would have in Afghanistan following the withdrawal.
“I’ve instructed the military whatever they need – if they need additional force, I will grant it,” he said, but noted that US commanders said they have what they need for now.
Biden said today’s attack demonstrated why he wanted to limit the duration of the mission in Afghanistan.
The mission was “extraordinary and dangerous”, he said.
But “we will not be deterred by terrorists,” he said. “We will continue our evacuation.”
The US will “continue to execute this mission with courage and honor to save lives and get Americans our partners, our Afghan allies, out of Afghanistan”.
The president then held a moment of silence for those who died in the attack.
“They were heroes,” Biden said of US service members who died in the terrorist attack. “Heroes who’ve been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others.”
The intelligence community has assessed that Isis-K was behind the bombing in Kabul.
To those who carried out the attack, Biden said, “We will not forgive, we will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Two explosions at the Kabul airport killed 12 US servicemembers and left another 15 injured, the Pentagon said. Reports indicate that at least 60 Afghan civilians were also killed in the attacks, which are believed to have been carried out by the Islamic State.
Joe Biden is set to address the nation on the Kabul explosions at any moment. The president has not yet delivered any kind of response to the deadly attacks, but the White House said the president has been receiving continuous updates from his national security team on the situation in Kabul.
Defense secretary Lloyd Austin indicated the evacuation mission would continue, despite the terrorist violence seen today. Austin released a statement expressing his condolences for the families of the lost troops, saying, “We mourn their loss. We will treat their wounds. And we will support their families in what will most assuredly be devastating grief. But we will not be dissuaded from the task at hand.”
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy demanded that speaker Nancy Pelosi call the chamber back into session to receive a briefing on Afghanistan. “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,” McCarthy said in a statement. But in her own statement on the attacks, Pelosi gave no indication she plans to call the House back into session.
Seven police officers who were attacked during the Capitol insurrection filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and far-right groups. The lawsuit alleges Trump “worked with white supremacists, violent extremist groups, and campaign supporters to violate the Ku Klux Klan Act, and commit acts of domestic terrorism in an unlawful effort to stay in power”.
Maanvi will have more coming up as we await the start of Biden’s speech on Afghanistan. Stay tuned.
The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Mark Milley, has now also released a statement expressing his condolences for the families of the 12 US servicemembers killed in Kabul today.
“On behalf of the Joint Force, I extend my deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the service members killed today,” Milley said.
“These brave men and women are taking risk to save lives of the vulnerable and safeguard Americans. They’ve moved more than 100,000 people to safety. I could not be prouder of their service. They gave their lives to save others, there is no higher noble calling.”
Echoing an earlier message from defense secretary Lloyd Austin, Milley added, “We remain focused and steadfast on this mission.”
Senior administration officials have indicated they will continue evacuation flights from the Kabul airport, despite the deadly attacks today.
Joe Biden will likely provide an update on the trajectory of the evacuation mission when he addresses the American public this evening. Biden is scheduled to start speaking in about 10 minutes, so stay tuned.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who has been fiercely critical of Joe Biden’s plans to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, expressed concern about the potential proliferation of terrorism after today’s deadly attacks in Kabul.
“It is sickening and enraging to hear that at least 12 United States servicemembers have been killed and more have been injured at the hands of terrorists in Kabul,” the Republican leader said in a new statement.
It is sickening and enraging to hear that at least 12 U.S. servicemembers have been killed at the hands of terrorists in Kabul. We need to redouble our global efforts to confront these barbarian enemies who want to kill Americans and attack our homeland. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/ydke3F6sZ7
McConnell also expressed sympathy for the families of the dozens of Afghan civilians who were killed in the explosions at the Kabul airport.
“Our partners in a long fight against terror deserve better than the dark fate that will await them after the last military aircraft has departed,” McConnell said.
He went on to say, “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. ... We need to redouble our global efforts to confront these barbarian enemies who want to kill Americans and attack our homeland.”
But recent polling suggests the majority of Americans still support withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, even as most Americans say that the withdrawal mission has gone badly.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying she “strongly condemns” the deadly attacks on US servicemembers and Afghan civilians in Kabul today.
“We mourn the loss of every innocent life taken, and we join every American in heartbreak over the deaths of the servicemembers killed,” the Democratic speaker said.
Noting that the US has helped evacuate more than 100,000 people out of Afghanistan in the past month, Pelosi added, “As we continue this process, Congress, on a bipartisan basis, remains deeply concerned about the security and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
“As we work with the Biden administration to bring stability to the situation, Congress must continue to be kept closely informed, which is why I have requested that the executive branch continue to brief members. At the same time, our committees of jurisdiction will continue to hold briefings on Afghanistan.”
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy had demanded that Pelosi call the chamber back to session to receive a briefing on Afghanistan, but the speaker gave no indication she plans to do so.
Kamala Harris will return to Washington this evening instead of spending the night in California, where she had been expected to participate in a rally tomorrow with Democratic governor Gavin Newsom.
The vice-president’s senior adviser, Symone Sanders, confirmed Harris would fly on to Washington after participating in a troop engagement event at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii this afternoon.
Following the @VP’s visit to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam this afternoon, the Vice President will return to Washington D.C.
Harris is returning from a nearly week-long trip to Singapore and Vietnam, and she planned to stop in California to appear alongside Newsom, who is fighting a difficult recall election at the moment.
However, after the deadly explosions in Kabul, the vice-president has apparently decided to fly straight on to Washington instead.
Biden to address the nation this evening on deadly attacks in Kabul
Joe Biden will deliver an address to the nation this evening on the deadly explosions in Kabul today, which have already claimed the lives of 12 US service members.
According to the president’s updated schedule from the White House, Biden will “delivers remarks on the terror attack at Hamid Karzai international airport, and the US service members and Afghan victims killed and wounded” at 5 pm ET in the East Room.
At 5.45pm ET, White House press secretary Jen Psaki will hold her daily briefing, which was originally scheduled to start at 12 pm.
Biden has not delivered any kind of response to the attacks so far, but the White House said he has been receiving continuous updates on the situation in Kabul from his national security team.
Senior administration officials, including defense secretary Lloyd Austin, have so far indicated that the evacuation mission in Kabul will continue, despite the attacks. Biden has set a deadline of 31 August to complete the mission.
The head of Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie, confirmed moments ago that the Kabul attacks killed 12 US service members and injured another 15. Reports indicate dozens of Afghan civilians were killed as well.
