Families are shocked, people are scared, and the situation is complete chaos. As of August twenty-eighth, there has been a deadly bombing of Afghanistan. The bombing has led to the casualties of thirteen US Marine Soldiers. The infamous bombing occurred last Thursday, on August 26, 2021. Steve Nikoui had been glued to the TV reports on Thursday, desperate for hints that his son, Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, survived the deadly airport suicide bombing in Afghanistan when three marines arrived at his door with the worst news possible. The twenty year old marine, who had recently sent a video back home showing him giving candy to Afghan children, was among thirteen US service members killed in the incident.

On Saturday, the US defense Department formally released the names of the thirteen service members. Four others were aged twenty like Nikoui, as old as the war itself. Additionally, among the deaths were at least ninety Afghan citizens, which summed up to over one hundred total casualties. “We will hunt you down, and make you pay,” Biden said in a White House speech, calling the deceased marines “heroes who’ve been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others.” Biden stated that he would send additional troops to aid Americans in Afghanistan if his military advisors ask to do so, though he has not been requested as of yet.

Retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgreger took aim at President Biden’s handling of the draw from Afghanistan, comparing it to the Benghazi incident that resulted in the deaths of multiple Americans. Macgreger stated, “You’re seeing the lapses in security, the absence of realistic planning, bad leadership from the top, a failure to outline specifically what the goal was, which I think very clearly was to get the American citizens and allied citizens out, before we withdrew any military power. All of this looks like Benghazi on steroids.”

General David Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps, praised the service of those killed as the US moves toward completing its evacuation mission. “Those fallen heroes answered the call to go into harm’s way and do the honorable work of helping others. We are proud of their service and deeply saddened by their loss,” he said in a public speech. “As we mourn, we also keep those who are still over there protecting Americans and our Afghan partners at the forefront of our thoughts and prayers.”