Fitzpatrick: ‘My Heart Breaks’ For Troops Killed in Kabul Attacks

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick issued a statement Thursday mourning the deaths of at least 12 American soldiers and dozens of Afghan civilians who were reportedly killed by two suicide attacks near the Kabul airport.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the pair of attacks, which was the deadliest single incident for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in a decade, Reuters reports. Eleven Marines and one Navy medic were killed in the attacks, the Associated Press reports.

“Today, our worst fears came true. Our own blood and treasure — devoted U.S. service members — and a number of innocent Afghans were killed in a series of explosions outside of the Hamid Karzai Airport and the Baron Hotel in Kabul. And even more are critically injured,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement.

“It simply did not have to be this way. My heart breaks for our troops, their loved ones, and our Afghan allies,” he said.

No American soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan in 18 months, “a fact likely to be cited by critics who accuse President Joe Biden of recklessly abandoning a stable and hard-won status quo by ordering an abrupt pullout,” Reuters reported.

President Joe Biden has ordered all U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan by Tuesday. Former President Donald Trump negotiated a withdrawal agreement with the Taliban in February 2020 that freed 5,000 imprisoned Taliban soldiers and required U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan by May 1, 2021.

Biden delayed the U.S. withdrawal by four months to allow more time to remove citizens and Afghans who worked with the U.S. over the past two decades, as well as to hand over military bases and equipment to Afghan forces, according to various reports.

Evacuation efforts have been in full force since mid-August after the Afghan army fell to Taliban fighters in less than two weeks. Biden said earlier this month that Trump “left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001.”

Speaking Thursday evening, Biden said he was “outraged” and “heartbroken” by the deaths of U.S. service members and promised retaliation against ISIS-K, the Islamic State’s regional affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which claimed credit for the attacks.

“To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: we will not forgive, we will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” Biden said.

Biden called ISIS-K an “arch enemy” of the Taliban and said the group now includes many of the 5,000 prisoners who freed by Trump’s administration.

Rep. Fitzpatrick in his statement urged Biden to extend his “arbitrary” withdrawal deadline past Tuesday and “commit to remaining on the ground until the mission is complete.”

“The Taliban must understand that they do not dictate the timeline on saving the lives of Americans, our allies, and our loyal Afghan partners, who have stood by our side for two decades,” Fitzpatrick said. “We must leave no one behind.”

Biden said Thursday that U.S. evacuation efforts have continued despite the terrorist attacks, noting more than 100,000 people have been evacuated since the end of July. He also recommitted to withdrawing all troops by Tuesday.

“I’ve repeatedly said this mission was extraordinarily dangerous, and that’s why I’ve been so determined to limit the duration of this mission,” Biden said.