1 Marine still at Walter Reed after Afghanistan suicide bombing

There is one Marine still receiving treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for wounds sustained during the Aug. 26 suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

The Marine is in “serious but stable condition,” Capt. Johnny Henderson, a spokesman for Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs, said in an emailed statement.

“One Marine is receiving care at a specialty facility elsewhere in the United States,” Henderson added.

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As of Tuesday, “16 (wounded in action) Marines are now on the West Coast in the vicinity of their parent units and are receiving outpatient treatment,” Henderson said. “Their recoveries are being monitored and assisted by the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Regiment.”

The Marines were processing final refugees through the Abbey Gate when a suicide bomber carrying roughly 25 pounds of explosive approached them.

The Marines had been warned that an attack was imminent but held the gate open hoping to get a few more people through, including refugees associated with the British military who were being processed at a nearby hotel.

The bomb killed 11 Marines, on Navy corpsman and one soldier, along with roughly 170 Afghans.

The dead service members are: Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, out of Camp Pendleton, California; Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, with 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Naval Support Activity Bahrain; Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit; Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, with 2/1; Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, with 2/1; Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, with 2/1; Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, with 2/1; Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, with 2/1; Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, with 2/1; Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, with 2/1; Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, with 2/1; Maxton W. Soviak, 22, assigned to 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California; and soldier Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, assigned to 9th PSYOP Battalion, 8th PSYOP Group, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

The terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province, known as ISIS-K, has since claimed responsibility for the attack.

After the explosion multiple ISIS-K fighters started shooting at the crowd, but the Marines who survived the bombing were able to quickly take them out before they could drastically increase the number of casualties.

As of Sept. 10, the Corps had approved 29 Purple Hearts, including those for the 11 Marines and Navy corpsman killed, while 12 were still pending for Marines who defended the airport