Heartbroken dad of Marine Kareem Nikoui killed in Kabul terror attack says Biden ‘turned his back on him’
THE devastated dad of one of the 13 US troops killed in the Kabul terror attack has blasted Joe Biden for "turning his back" on his "devoted" son.
Californian carpenter Steve Nikoui was heartbroken when he learned his son Kareem, a young US Marine stationed at the capital airport, had died during yesterday's attack - and says he blames for his death.
"I haven’t gone to bed all night," he told the .
"I’m still in shock. I haven’t been able to grasp everything that’s going on.
“They sent my son over there as a paper pusher and then had the outside providing security. I blame my own military leaders.
"Biden turned his back on him. That’s it.”
have been identified as Jared Schmitz, Hunter Lopez, 20-year-old David Lee Espinoza, Taylor Hoover, and Rylee McCollum, in April.
Nikoui said Kareem "loved what he was doing" and had "always wanted to be a Marine".
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"He really loved that [Marine Corps] family," he added.
"He was devoted—he was going to make a career out of this, and he wanted to go. No hesitation for him to be called to duty.”
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Nikoui said his 20-year-old son sent a video home the day before the attack showing him talking to Afghan children and giving them candy at the Kabul airport.
"He was born the same year it started, and ended his life with the end of this war," Nikoui said from his home in Norco, California, referring to a war that began in 2001, reports Reuters.
"I'm really disappointed in the way that the president has handled this, even more so the way the military has handled it.
"The commanders on the ground should have recognized this threat and addressed it."
It comes as the as it's revealed he wrote a chilling final Instagram post that said "it's kill or be killed."
Max Soviak, believed to be in his early 20s, was killed in the explosion and in a final post, from June 10, Soviak posted a photograph of himself in his fatigues with the caption: "It's kill or be killed, definitely trynna be on the kill side."
Soviak graduated from Edison High School in , who said he was a "good student" who was "well respected and liked," adding that his death brought "great sorrow."
His heartbroken sister, Marilyn, paid tribute to her "baby brother" on Instagram, saying "there is a large Maxton sized hole that will never be filled."
"What I will say is that my beautiful, intelligent, beat-to-the-sound of his own drum, annoying, charming baby brother was killed yesterday helping to save lives," she wrote. "He was a f**king medic. there to help people. And now he is gone and my family will never be the same."
"He was just a kid. We are sending kids over there to die. Kids with families that now have holes just like ours. I’m not one for praying but damn could those kids over there use some right now. My heart is in pieces and I don’t think they’ll ever fit back right again."
It comes as...
- US veterans to save allies in Afghanistan
- Trump slammed Biden for
- Biden warned that and vowed 'you will pay'
- The SEAL veteran who
- in yesterday's attack
Thirteen US troops and dozens of Afghans were among those killed in the blast at Kabul airport on Thursday.
The Pentagon said there was one ISIS suicide bomber, who struck at the Abbey Gate, where desperate Afghans were crowding to try and enter the airport and where US troops were carrying out security checks.
Major General Hank Taylor, the deputy director for regional operations on the Pentagon's Joint Staff, told reporters there was no second explosion at the Baron Hotel near the airport.
The suicide bomber reportedly hit people standing in a wastewater canal - sending bodies flying into the water.
It's understood he walked into the middle of families waiting in Kabul before blowing himself up.
People waiting desperately for a space on a flight out of Afghanistan were seen carrying those who had been wounded to ambulances, their clothes covered in blood.
Another 200 people were wounded while 132 were left so maimed by the attack that they're unidentifiable, according to a in Afghanistan.
Other blasts were heard in Kabul hours later, but were believed to be US troops carrying out controlled explosions as they dispensed of weapons.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, sharing a picture online of one of the suicide bombers.
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The attacks marked the deadliest day since 30 Americans, including 22 Navy SEALs, were killed after a Chinook helicopter was shot down by a grenade in Afghanistan in 2011.
