The war in Afghanistan is over. The remaining members of the U.S. military left the country Aug. 31, ceding control of the country to the Taliban.. According to the U.S. state department, hundreds of American citizens were left behind.
A Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday that he doesn’t know exactly how many U.S. citizens remain in Afghanistan but that efforts to extract them will be made via diplomatic channels as opposed to military means.
The American military’s final days in Afghanistan were not without controversy or bloodshed.
The Pentagon is looking into reports that ten Afghan civilians, including a number of children, were killed during a U.S. drone strike over the weekend.
U.S. Central Command said the drone strike on Aug. 29 destroyed an Islamic State car bomb that posed an “imminent” threat to Kabul’s airport. The Washington Post reported the ten Afghan civilians, all part of the same extended family, were exiting a nearby car near the targeted vehicle suspecting to hold Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) militants.
“This was the second U.S. drone strike in response to a suicide bombing and gunfire attack outside Kabul’s airport Thursday that killed 13 U.S. troops and over 170 civilians trying to flee the country,” the Washington Post said.
The 13 U.S. service members have now been identified: Navy Corpsman Maxton “Max” W. Soviak, 22; Army Staff Sergeant Ryan C. Knauss, 23; Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Darin T. Hoover Jr., 31; Marine Corps Sergeant Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25; Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole L. Gee, 23; Marine Corps Corporal Hunter Lopez, 22; Marine Corps Corporal Daegan W. Page, 23; Marine Corps Corporal Humberto A. Sanchez, 22; Marine Corps Lance Corporal David L. Espinoza, 20; Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jared M. Schmitz, 20; Marine Corps Lance Corporal Rylee J. McCollum, 20; Marine Corps Lance Corporal Dylan R. Merola, 20; and Marine Corps Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui, 20.
As the remains of 13 service members returned to U.S. soil, the president and the first lady paid their respects at Dover Air Force base in Delaware.
“The 13 service members that we lost were heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our highest American ideals and while saving the lives of others,” Biden said in a statement on Aug. 28. “Their bravery and selflessness has enabled more than 117,000 people at risk to reach safety thus far.”
Army Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor reported on Aug. 29 that 26 military flights carried only 1,200 evacuees from Kabul, bringing the total number of people who have been pulled out of Afghanistan to 122,000; 5,400 of which are American citizens. The U.S. military was scheduled to be out of the country by Aug. 31.
