Biden visits services members at Walter Reed but doesn’t disclose whether any were from Kabul

Twenty service members are recovering at Walter Reed medical center

(REUTERS)

President Joe Biden has visited Walter Reed medical centre to meet with service members.

Mr Biden visited on Thursday evening after most events were finished. The White House did not disclose whether any of the service members the president had visited were injured in Kabul.

“Tonight, the president and first lady are visiting wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,” the White House said in a statement.

The 20 service members who were injured during the explosion in Kabul that also killed 13 service members are all recovering at Walter Reed, Stars and Stripes reported this week.

The United States ended its military operations in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Mr Biden has faced criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over the pullout, which saw thousands attempt to leave Afghanistan as the Taliban swept to power in mere days in August.

Devastating images from Kabul airport showed crowds desperate to board planes out of the country, with at least 100 Americans and thousands of US allies remaining in the country after US military operations in Afghanistan ended.

Mr Biden previously attended the dignified transfer of those who were killed in the explosion at Dover Air Force Base last week. But some of the family members of the deceased criticized how Biden spoke with them as “blunt” or too “scripted and shallow.”

Upon the initial report of the explosion, the president vowed vengeance, saying to those who carried out the attack, “we will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay.”

The former president mentioned veterans and the scars they bear during his address announcing the end of the war earlier this week.

“A lot of our veterans and their families have gone through hell. Deployment after deployment, months and years away from their families, missed birthdays, anniversaries, empty chairs at holidays, financial struggles, divorces, loss of limbs, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress,” he said.”

“There’s nothing low grade or low risk or low cost about any war.”