¨We are not going to be deterred by terrorists, the United States is not going to be intimidated, Biden said in a statement after the Kabul attacks where 12 US soldiers were killed, whom Biden described as ‘heroes’ and observed a minute´s silence.

The blasts shook the vicinity of the Kabul airport where dozens of Afghan civilians died, while thousands wait to be evacuated after the Taliban´s takeover after 20 years of occupation by the United States and NATO allies.

Asked whether he (Biden) thought it was a mistake to rely on the Taliban to secure the perimeter of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport after the attacks, Joe Biden replied: ‘No, I don’t think so!’

According to the US president, there has been no evidence of collusion between the Taliban and IS regarding most recent incidents.

Despite this new scenario, Joe Biden said August 31 is the deadline for the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan and also stated that the evacuation process for US citizens and Afghan collaborators will continue.

Afghanistan war cost billions of dollars for tax payers and nearly 3,000 soldiers dead, as well as the death of 250,000 Afghan civilians, while as many as 11 million people fled the country.

pgh/Pll/lb / avr