President Biden and first lady Jill Bidenare en route to Dover Air ForceBase to pay respects to the 13 service members killed in last week's Kabul airport attack.
Why it matters: This is Biden's first visit as president to the Air Force base in Delaware to pay respects to fallen soldiers. The base serves as the initial transit place for U.S. service members killed overseas.
- The deadly blast on Thursday led to the first U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan in over a year, and marks the deadliest incident there in a decade, per Reuters.
- ISIS-K, the terrorist group’s affiliate in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.
"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 Saturday. "Their bravery and selflessness has enabled more than 117,000 people at risk to reach safety thus far."
- "I said we would go after the group responsible for the attack on our troops and innocent civilians in Kabul, and we have," Biden said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
Go deeper: The U.S. service members who died in the Kabul blast
