U.S. retaliates against ISIS
Drone strike kills militant who helped plot Kabul bombing
KABUL, Afghanistan — A U.S. drone strike early Saturday killed a militant in the group implicated in the deadly suicide bombing at the Kabul airport, U.S. officials said, while American forces working under heightened security and threats of another attack pressed ahead in the closing days of the U.S.-led evacuation from Afghanistan.
The attack in eastern Afghanistan killed a member of the country’s Islamic State affiliate, U.S. Central Command said. President
Joe Biden has laid responsibility for Thursday’s suicide bombing on the Islamic State, an extremist group that is an enemy both to the West and to Afghanistan’s Taliban and is known for especially lethal attacks.
“U.S. military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner,” Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, said in a statement, referring to the Islamic State group affiliate in Afghanistan, also known as Islamic State Khorasan, which has claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack.
“The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangahar province of Afghanistan,” Capt. Urban said. “Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties.”
Mr. Biden approved the strike on the ISIS-K planner, according to an official familiar with the matter.
The death toll in the suicide bombing rose to 169 Afghans, a number that could increase as authorities examine fragmented remains, and 13 U. S. service
U.S. forces in Kabul are preparing for more Islamic State terrorist attacks, which may include the use of car bombs or the firing of rockets at the capital’s airport, as the evacuation effort in Afghanistan nears its Aug. 31 deadline.
Thirteen U.S. service members — 10 Marines, two soldiers and a Navy medic — and at least 169 Afghans were killed in the explosion at the gates of Kabul’s international airport and a nearby hotel Thursday, the deadliest day for the American military in Afghanistan in a decade. A top U. S. commander said the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility, is behind the attack.
“We believe it is their desire to continue those attacks, and we expect those attacks to continue,” Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters Thursday. He outlined security measures in place, including securing the boundary of the airfield and using antirocket and mortar systems, as well as sharing some information with Taliban militants operating checkpoints outside the airport.
Even as the U.S. and its allies warned Thursday morning that an attack at the airport was likely, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that any such attack was imminent, according to the Associated Press. Later, Mr. Mujahid noted that the airport is controlled by U.S. troops.
Without outside help, analysts say the Taliban will be hard-pressed to stave off future attacks as it struggles to secure and govern a war-weary nation.
The Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, the IS affiliate that has claimed responsibility for the attacks, considers both the Taliban and the U.S. to be enemies. U.S. forces on Friday carried out a strike in Afghanistan against ISIS-K. The person was suspected of being involved in plotting future attacks, but had no direct link to Thursday’s assault in Kabul, according to a U.S. official.
The president also said more U.S. troops could be deployed to secure the evacuation if military commanders consider it necessary. The United States and its allies have flown out more than 104,000 people since Aug. 14, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Mr. Biden has faced questions over the temporary partnership between the U.S. and the Taliban, who have been securing the perimeter of the Kabul airport and screening those attempting to enter.
The U.S. forces have relied on the Taliban to control access to the airport and have even shared threat assessments with their leaders in a bid to improve security.