By Lauren Egan - NBC News
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden warned Saturday that another attack at the Kabul airport is "highly likely" and promised that the United States will respond with a second retaliatory strike against the terrorists responsible for Thursday's suicide bombing.
"The situation on the ground remains extremely dangerous and the threat of terrorist attacks at the airport remains high," the president said in a statement.
"Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24 to 36 hours."
The US Army is rushing to evacuate the few Americans and Afghan allies fleeing the Taliban who are still in Afghanistan.
The deadline for the United States to complete its military withdrawal is next Tuesday.
There are approximately 350 Americans left in Afghanistan who want to leave the country.
Meanwhile, thousands of Afghans who collaborated with the United States during the 20-year war are still trying to get a flight to leave.
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A suicide bomber bombed a crowded checkpoint outside Kabul airport on Thursday, killing 13 US servicemen and more than 110 Afghans.
The following day, US military forces carried out a drone strike against ISIS-K, a group in Afghanistan that is affiliated with Islamic State, the terror group widely known as ISIS, which claimed to have been responsible for the suicide bombing.
In his statement this Saturday, Biden promised that the United States will respond with another retaliatory attack if a second attack occurs.
"This coup was not the last," said the president.
"We will continue to hunt down anyone involved in that heinous attack and make them pay.
Whenever anyone seeks to harm the United States or attack our troops, we will respond."
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby declined to answer on Saturday whether the ISIS-K members who died in Friday's attack were directly involved in the Kabul airport bombing.
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"They were ISIS-K planners and facilitators. That is reason enough on its own," Kirby told reporters.
"I will not go into detail about these people or what their specific roles might be."
Kirby also said that some military personnel had already started to leave Afghanistan before the Aug. 31 withdrawal.
The decrease in the number of troops on the ground will likely lead to a slower rate of evacuations.
As the mission ends, Biden said US military personnel continue to evacuate civilians "despite the volatile situation in Kabul."
He also said he is working with his national security team to "help people continue to leave Afghanistan" after the US Army has left the country.