The Department of Defense Saturday identified all of the U.S. service members killed in a terrorist bomb attack.
One bomb went off near the Abbey Gate of U.S.-held Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, late on Aug. 26 local time. Pentagon officials said that 11 Marines, one Navy corpsman, and one U.S. Army soldiers were killed by the suicide bombing. At least another 18 service members were wounded.
The deaths mark the first U.S. military combat-related deaths in Afghanistan since February 2020.
The terrorist group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, bragging about a suicide bomber “managing to penetrate all the security fortifications” put into place by U.S. forces and the Taliban.
The ISIS terrorist “managed to reach a large gathering of translators and collaborators with the American army, and then he detonated his explosive belt,” the group said in a statement. It claimed the attacker was able to get within five meters of U.S. troops at an eastern gate to the airport. Another explosion struck a nearby hotel, the Pentagon said.
President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the United States would strike ISIS in retaliation for the bombings.
The U.S. military carried out a counterterrorism drone strike against a member of the ISIS-K terrorist group in Afghanistan early on Saturday local time, according to U.S. Central Command.
In a statement, CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Bill Urban said that the U.S. military forces “conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner.”
David L. Espinoza, 20, Texas
Marine Corps Lance Corporal David L. Espinoza, a Marine from Laredo, Texas, joined the military after high school and was remembered as a hero by his mother.Espinoza’s death was confirmed earlier by Rep. Henry Cuellar (R-Texas). The congressman’s press secretary, Dana Youngentob, said Pentagon representatives visited Cuellar’s Washington office to inform him of Espinoza’s death. Cuellar’s office also received an official death notice from the Pentagon.
In a statement, Cuellar said Espinoza “embodied the values of America: grit, dedication, service, and valor. When he joined the military after high school, he did so with the intention of protecting our nation and demonstrating his selfless acts of service.”
Nicole L. Gee, 23, California
Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee is a native of Sacramento, California. In an Instagram account that apparently belongs to her, Gee posted a photo on Aug. 21, five days before the terrorist attack, showing her holding a baby. “I love my job,” she wrote.Another Instagram post—which is also the last one before her death—shows her evacuating Afghans to the airplane.
Darin T. Hoover, 31, Utah
Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Darin T. Hoover, of Utah, had been in the Marines for 11 years and was remembered as a hero who died serving others, his father Darin Hoover Sr. said.“He is a hero. He gave his life protecting those that can’t protect themselves, doing what he loved serving his country,” said Darin Hoover Sr., who lives in a Salt Lake City suburb.
He said he heard from Marines throughout the day Friday who said they are grateful they had his son as their sergeant.
“They look back on him and say that they’ve learned so much from him,” Darin Hoover Sr. said. “One heck of a leader.”
His father said his son was also a best friend to his two sisters and loved all his extended family. He had a girlfriend in California and was the kind of guy who “lit up a room” when he came in, his father said.
Nate Thompson of Murray, Utah, first met Hoover when they were 10 years old in Little League football. They stayed friends through high school, where Hoover played lineman. He was undersized for the position, but his heart and hard work more than made up for what he lacked in statute, Thompson said. As a friend, he was selfless and kind.
Ryan C. Knauss, 23, Tennessee
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss was remembered as a motivated man who loved his country and was looking forward to coming back to the United States and eventually moving to Washington, family members told WATE-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee.Knauss’ grandfather, Wayne Knauss, told the television station that the family received word of Knauss’s death on Friday, and funeral services were being planned. Knauss said his grandson attended Gibbs High School and grew up in a Christian home.
“A motivated young man who loved his country,” Wayne Knauss said. “He was a believer, so we will see him again in God’s heaven.”
Stepmother Linnae Knauss said Ryan planned to move to Washington after he returned to the United States.
Hunter Lopez, 22, California
Marine Corps Corporal Hunter Lopez, whose parents work at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in Southern California, was a sheriff’s Explorer for three years before joining the Marine Corps in September 2017, Sheriff Chad Bianco said.Dylan R. Merola, 20, California
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola is a native of Rancho Cucamonga, California.Rylee J. McCollum, 20, Wyoming
Marine Corps Lance Corporal Rylee J. McCollum, a Marine and native of Bondurant, Wyoming, was married and his wife is expecting a baby in three weeks, his sister, Cheyenne McCollum, said.“He was so excited to be a dad, and he was going to be a great dad,” McCollum said. She said her brother “was a Marine before he knew he was allowed to be a Marine ... He’d carry around his toy rifle and wear his sister’s pink princess snow boots and he’d either be hunting or he was a Marine. Sometimes it would be with nothing on underneath, just a T-shirt.”
McCollum said her brother wanted to be a history teacher and a wrestling coach once he completed his service. Another sister, Roice McCollum, told the Casper Star Tribune that her brother was on his first deployment when the evacuation in Afghanistan began.
“We want to make sure that people know that these are the kids that are sacrificing themselves, and he’s got a family who loves him and a wife who loves him and a baby that he’ll never get to meet,” Cheyenne McCollum said.
Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, California
Marine Corps Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui, of Norco, California, sent videos to his family hours before he died, showing himself interacting with children in Afghanistan. In one of the clips, he asked a young boy to say hello.“Want to take a video together buddy?” Nikoui said, leaning in to take a video of himself with the boy. “All right, we’re heroes now, man.”
Close family friend Paul Arreola said the videos show “the heart of this young man, the love he has.”
“The family is just heartbroken,” he said. Arreola described Nikoui as an “amazing young man” full of promise who always wanted to be a Marine and set out to achieve his goal. He is survived by his parents and three siblings.
“He loved this country and everything we stand for. It’s just so hard to know that we’ve lost him,” he said, crying.
Nikoui was also in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC). The Norco High School Air Force JROTC posted on Facebook that he was “one of our best Air Force JROTC cadets” and that “Kareem was set on being a Marine & always wanted to serve his country.”
Daegan W. Page, 23, Nebraska
Marine Corps Corporal Daegan W. Page served in the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment based at Camp Pendleton, California, and planned to go to a trade school and possibly become a lineman after his enlistment ended, his family said in a statement.Page was raised in Red Oak, Iowa, and in the Omaha metro area, Nebraska, and joined the Marines after graduating from Millard South High School. He is mourned by his girlfriend, parents, stepmom and stepdad, four siblings, and grandparents, the family said in a statement released by a family friend. The statement said the family did not wish to speak to the media at this time.
Johanny Rosariopichardo, 25, Massachusetts
Marine Corps Sergeant Johanny Rosariopichardo, a native of Lawrence, Massachusetts, graduated from Lawrence High School, Boston 25 News reported.Lawrence School Committee member Jonathan Guzman said Rosariopichardo was “a wonderful person with a kind heart.”
Humberto A. Sanchez, Indiana
Marine Corps Corporal Humberto A. Sanchez from Logansport, Indiana, was a graduate of Logansport High School, WLWT News reported.Both Mayor Chris Martin and the Logansport Community School Corporation confirmed the news on Facebook Friday, though Martin did not identify Sanchez by name.
Jared M. Schmitz, 20, Missouri
Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jared M. Schmitz grew up in the St. Louis area and was among a group of Marines sent back to Afghanistan to assist with evacuation efforts, his father, Mark Schmitz, told KMOX Radio.Mark Schmitz said his son always wanted to be a Marine. He said he learned of his son’s death when the Marines came to his home in Wentzville, Missouri, at 2:40 a.m. Friday.
Maxton W. Soviak, 22, Ohio
U.S. Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak from Berlin Heights, Ohio, was a graduate of Edison High School.Edison High School Superintendent Thomas C. Roth said Maxton was “well respected and liked by everyone who knew him.”