WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden, his voice breaking with emotion, vowed on Thursday the United States would hunt down the attackers of twin explosions at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan and said he has asked the Pentagon to develop plans to strike back at them.
Biden spoke hours after the two blasts killed a dozen American troops and wounded more, the worst day of casualties for U.S. forces there in a decade.
“We will not forgive, we will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” he said in remarks at the White House.
Biden said U.S. evacuations would continue. He gave no indication of a change in next Tuesday’s U.S. pullout target.
“I have also ordered my commanders to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership and facilities. We will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place we choose and the moment of our choosing,” Biden said.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney)
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