Washington: Less than 48 hours after suicide bombings outside Kabul airport killed 169 Afghans and 13 American soldiers, the responsibility for which was claimed by ISIS, the US today retaliated with a drone strike against the Islamic State “planner” in Afghanistan. “US military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner. The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangahar province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target,” Capt Bill Urban, spokesperson of US Central Command, said on Friday.
“We know of no civilian casualties,” he said.
It wasn’t immediately known if the ISIS-K planner was involved specifically in Thursday’s Kabul airport attack, claimed by the Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate — Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K.
Earlier in the day, the White House said President Joe Biden does not want the terrorists, who planned the attack at the Kabul airport, to live any longer.
“I think he made it clear yesterday that he does not want them to live on the Earth anymore,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.
US Drone Strike Comes a Day After Biden Vows to Hunt Down Terrorists
The US airstrike came a day after President Biden vowed to “hunt” down the terrorists and make them “pay” for the Kabul airport attack and ordered his commanders to develop plans to strike back at them.
“To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm notice, we will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay. I will defend our interests and our people with every measure at my command,” Biden had said in his remarks at the White House on Thursday.
US Issues Advisory
The US has asked its citizens to leave Kabul airport gates ‘immediately’, where a suicide bombing killed several people less than 48 hours ago.
“US citizens who are at the Abbey gate, East gate, North gate, or the New Ministry of Interior gate now should leave immediately,” AFP reported US Embassy in Kabul as saying in a security alert.
“Because of security threats at the Kabul airport, we continue to advise US citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates,” the embassy said.
