Pentagon identifies 13 U.S. troops killed in Kabul terrorist attack

The Defense Department on Saturday identified all 13 of the U.S. service members who were killed during Thursday’s ISIS-K terrorist attack at the Kabul airport.

Eleven Marines, one soldier, and one Navy corpsman died in the assault on what was the deadliest day for American troops in Afghanistan in over a decade. Another 18 U.S. personnel were wounded. 

More than a hundred Afghans also died in the attack, which saw ISIS-K suicide bombers and gunmen target the Kabul airport. That airport is the epicenter of a massive U.S.-led evacuation effort following the Islamist Taliban’s rapid return to power in Afghanistan two weeks ago.

Military leaders say the fallen service members were performing a selfless mission.

“Terrorists took their lives at the very moment these troops were trying to save the lives of others,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement after the attack. “We mourn their loss. We will treat their wounds. And we will support their families in what will most assuredly be devastating grief.”

The service members who died as a result of Thursday’s attack are:

-Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah

-Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts

-Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California

-Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California

-Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska

-Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana

-Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas

-Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri 

-Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming

-Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California

-Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California

-Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio

-Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee