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Joe Biden warns Kabul airport attackers: ‘We will hunt you down’
US President Joe Biden, his voice breaking with emotion, vowed on Thursday the United States would hunt down those responsible for twin explosions at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan and said he had asked the Pentagon to develop plans to strike back at them, Reuters reported.
Biden spoke hours after the blasts killed at least 13 American troops and over 60 Afghans, the worst day of casualties for U.S. forces there in a decade.
According to Reuters ISIS-K, locally known as Daesh, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
"We will not forgive, we will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," Biden said in remarks at the White House.
He promised U.S. evacuations would continue.
"We will not be deterred by terrorists, we will not let them stop our mission. We will continue the evacuations," he said.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Biden was sticking to his Tuesday pullout target for withdrawing U.S. forces, saying he was doing so on the advice of military advisers concerned about more attacks.
She said Biden was working to get out every American who wanted out by the deadline. "Our commitment to them does not end," she said.
Biden said he had ordered U.S. military commanders to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership, and facilities. "We will find ways of our choosing, without large military operations, to get them," he said.
He appeared to be fighting back tears and his voice cracked with emotion as he talked about the American "heroes" who died. He ordered flags at the White House and public buildings around the country to be lowered to half staff, Reuters reported.
"It's been a tough day," he said.
The president said he had told the U.S. military: "Whatever they need, if they need additional force, I will grant it."
Biden defended his handling of his most serious foreign policy crisis, saying ultimately it is his responsibility, while assigning some blame to his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, for the 2020 agreement Trump negotiated with the Taliban.
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Eight Afghan migrants die as boat capsizes off Greek island
Eight Afghan migrants died after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized off Greece's eastern island of Rhodes on Friday, the Associated Press reported.
Greek authorities said that the capsizing was the result of the boat’s maneuvering to evade a patrol vessel.
A total of 18 migrants — 12 men, three women and three minors — all Afghan nationals, were rescued, Greece's coast guard said Saturday. The dead were also from Afghanistan, it said.
Some migrants remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said.
Two Turkish citizens, ages 23 and 19, were arrested as the suspected traffickers. The boat sank after capsizing, the coast guard said.
The sinking off Rhodes was the second deadly incident involving migrants in the past week.
Seven migrants were killed and dozens were believed missing after a boat partially sank south of the island of Crete over the weekend — one of four rescue operations during which more than 200 migrants were rescued.
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Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires meets with IEA deputy foreign minister
Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan, Per Albert Ilsaas, on Saturday met with IEA’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, in Kabul.
Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
In addition to focusing on bilateral political, humanitarian, and other pertinent issues, the two sides expressed hope that continued engagement would lead to constructive solutions to related issues.
This comes two weeks after the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi expressed disappointment regarding the decision by the Norwegian government to downgrade diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.
Balkhi said in a post on X that such decisions should not be linked with internal affairs of other countries.
“Diplomatic engagement is most effective when it fosters mutual understanding and respect, even amidst differing viewpoints,” he stated.
“Access to consular services is a fundamental right of all nationals. We strongly urge all parties to prioritize this principle in the spirit of international cooperation,” he added.
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A new polio vaccination campaign is set to launch in Afghanistan
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not been eradicated.
The “Afghanistan Polio-Free” organization announced that a new round of polio vaccinations will begin on Monday, December 23, in various provinces of Afghanistan.
The organization did not specify which provinces will be targeted or how long the vaccination campaign will last.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not been eradicated.
On December 4, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement reporting a 283% increase in polio cases in Afghanistan. According to the WHO, the number of positive environmental samples for wild poliovirus type 1 in Afghanistan in 2024 reached 84, compared to 62 cases in 2023.
The Ministry of Public Health claimed in November 2024 that no new cases of polio had been reported in Afghanistan for the year.
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