By Ana Ruiz Brictson | Staff Writer
“The Taliban is not a group we trust; they are not our friends,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at 5 p.m. today during a press conference.
Early this morning, two suicide bombers struck the Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. Thirteen U.S. service members died, and 18 U.S. service members were injured. Also, more than 60 Afghan civilians were found dead at the scene.
In the 11 days since President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will be withdrawing all of its forces from Afghanistan, the government has worked to evacuate as many American citizens as it can from the country.
“There is not an end to our commitment to getting U.S. citizens out,” Psaki said.
Overall, 100,000 U.S. citizens have been evacuated from Afghanistan, with more than 7,000 of them being evacuated in the last 13 hours.
Psaki mentioned during the press conference that there are no public details about how the U.S. is ensuring the safety of citizens during their travel back to the U.S.
The government is currently working on doing background checks of the people who wish to come to the U.S. There are specific requirements they have to fulfill in order to be a candidate to enter the country, which include being a U.S citizen or having a green card, among others.
Psaki mentioned that on this day, President Biden honors the memories of those who have died in the attack by the Islamic State group. She also said that the threat is still ongoing, but she failed to answer if there were any other threats coming from other terrorist groups.
Nicaragua sophomore Adriana Diaz said she was saddened by today’s incident.
“I think it’s really sad,” Diaz said. “People should be more informed about this topic because it involves the U.S.”
Los Angeles senior Noah Que said he was surprised to hear about today’s incident.
“That’s incredibly sad and disappointing to hear,” Que said. “With that stuff and the possibility of more going on, it’s within our own duty and responsibility to continue being there.”
