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AUSTIN, TX – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul has released the following statement on the second anniversary of the Abbey Gate terrorist attack at the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul, Afghanistan during the emergency evacuation of the country. The attack, carried out by an ISIS-K terrorist, killed 13 U.S. servicemembers and more than 170 Afghans, and injured another 45 U.S. servicemembers and countless Afghans. It was the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since 2011. 

“As a husband and father of five children, I cannot begin to imagine the loss and pain these families feel each morning they wake up without their loved ones,” stated McCaul. “And on top of their loss and their grief, they still have many questions – too many – left unanswered as to how this happened. That is why I’m conducting the investigation into the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the resulting emergency evacuation. Our Gold Star families and our veterans deserve answers. And I will leave no stone unturned to get them answers – and accountability.”

The 13 U.S. servicemembers who perished in the Abbey Gate attack are:

  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza;
  • Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee;
  • Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover;
  • Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Christian Knauss;
  • Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez;
  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum;
  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola;
  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui;
  • Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page;
  • Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario;
  • Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez;
  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz; and
  • Navy Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W. Soviak.

Chairman McCaul will be hosting a roundtable with some of the family members of those killed in the Abbey Gate attack on Tuesday, August 29th at 1:00pm in 1100 Longworth House Office Building. Learn more about this event here. 

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