Defense Secretary Austin marks third anniversary of Kabul bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday said his thoughts were with the families of the 13 American service members killed three years ago when a suicide bomber triggered his explosives-laden vest outside Hamid Karzai International Airport during the Biden administration’s chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan.

At least 170 Afghan civilians were also killed in the Aug. 26, 2021, attack at Abbey Gate, a shocking conclusion to the decades-long Afghanistan war, which cost the lives of more than 2,400 U.S. troops and wounded more than 20,000 others.

“We will never forget these 13 brave Americans — 11 Marines, a soldier, and a sailor — who lost their lives defending their teammates and helping to save tens of thousands of Afghans seeking freedom and the opportunity for a better life,” Mr. Austin said in a statement. “Another year has passed, but our gratitude will never wane.”

The Afghanistan war spanned 20 years and four U.S. presidents. President Biden has faced fierce criticism over his administration’s abrupt pullout that was accelerated by the quick collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

Mr. Biden called the Abbey Gate bombing “an act of deliberate evil” and said the 13 Americans killed at Abbey Gate were “patriots in the highest sense.”

“Some were born the year the war in Afghanistan started. Some were on their second or third tour,” Mr. Biden said in a statement released by the White House while he was on vacation at his house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. “But all raised the hand to serve a cause greater than themselves — risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, allies, and Afghan partners.”