US Congress honors 13 service members killed in 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal

​​​​​​WASHINGTON

The US Congress honored 13 American service members Tuesday who were killed during the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

House Speaker Mike Johnson hosted a ceremony on Capitol Hill to present the Congressional Gold Medal -- the highest national honor for distinguished achievements and contributions.

The ceremony was attended by Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate, along with the family members of those killed in the attack at the Hamid Karzai International Airport's Abbey Gate.

"Our nation owes a profound debt of gratitude to these service members and those here today were with them in Kabul.

"We also owe them something deeper, and that is an apology to the families who are here. I know many of you have yet to hear these words, so I will say them: ‘We are sorry,’" said Johnson.

The US government should have done everything to protect the troops, he said. "Those fallen and wounded at Abbey Gate deserved our best efforts."

A suicide bombing on Aug. 26, 2021, claimed by the Daesh/ISIS terror group at Kabul's international airport killed the 13 American troops and 170 Afghan civilians.

The US presence in Afghanistan, which began in October 2001, came to an end after 20 years with the withdrawal of American troops in 2021. The Biden administration is blamed by Republican lawmakers for the “failed” withdrawal and the chaos at the airport.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was marred by the collapse of the internationally-recognized Afghan government, which was quickly overrun by Taliban forces as international forces left the country.