Allies race to complete evacuations in aftermath of deadly Kabul blasts
U.S. launches retaliatory strike against ISIS target,
WASHINGTON—Acting swiftly on U.S. President Joe Biden’s promise to retaliate for the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport, the American military said it used a drone strike to kill a member of the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate Saturday.
The strike came amid what the White House called indications that ISIS-K planned to strike again as the U.S.-led evacuation from Kabul airport moved into its final days. Biden has set Tuesday as his deadline for completing the exit.
Biden authorized the drone strike and it was ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a defence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet publicly announced.
The airstrike was launched from beyond Afghanistan less than 48 hours after the devastating Kabul attack that killed 13 Americans and more than 160 Afghans with just days left in a final U.S. withdrawal after 20 years of war.
U.S. Central Command provided few details; it said it believed its strike killed no civilians.
The speed with which the U.S. military retaliated reflected its close monitoring of Islamic State and years of experience in targeting extremists in remote parts of the world.
But it also shows the limits of U.S. power to eliminate extremist threats, which some believe will have more freedom of movement in Afghanistan now that the Taliban is in power.
U.S. Central Command said the drone strike was conducted in Nangahar province against an ISIS-K member believed to be involved in planning attacks against the United States in Kabul. The strike killed one individual, spokesperson Navy Capt. William Urban said.
It wasn’t clear if the targeted individual was involved directly in the Thursday suicide blast outside the gates of the Kabul airport, where crowds of Afghans were desperately trying to get in as part of the ongoing evacuation.
The airstrike came after Biden declared Thursday that perpetrators of the attack would not be able to hide. “We will hunt you down and make you pay,” he said.
Pentagon leaders told reporters Friday that they were prepared for whatever retaliatory action the president ordered. “We have options there right now,” said Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.
The president was warned Friday to expect another lethal attack in the closing days of a frantic U.S.-led evacuation. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden’s national security team offered a grim outlook.
Biden still faces the problem over the longer term of containing an array of potential extremist threats based in Afghanistan, which will be harder with fewer U.S. intelligence assets and no military presence in the nation.
Emily Harding, a former CIA analyst and deputy staff director for the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she doubted Biden’s assurances that the United States will be able to monitor and strike terror threats from beyond Afghanistan’s borders. The Pentagon also insists this so-called “over the horizon” capability, which includes surveillance and strike aircraft based in the Persian Gulf area, will be effective.