US strikes IS planners after Af airport attack
KABUL/WASHINGTON: Acting on President Joe Biden’s promise to retaliate for the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport, the United States conducted a drone strike against an Islamic State target in Afghanistan on Saturday, as the airlift of those desperate to flee moved into its fraught final stages with fresh terror attack warnings.
US forces overseeing the evacuation have been forced into closer security cooperation with the Taliban to prevent any repeat of the suicide bombing that killed scores of civilians crowded around one of the airport’s main access gates and 13 American troops.The attack was claimed by a regional Islamic State chapter, called the Islamic StateKhorasan, and the Pentagon announced that two members of the jihadist group were killed in the drone strike in eastern Afghanistan.
“It was a single mission to get these targets and as the assessments and information flowed over time, we were able to recognise that another was killed as well and one wounded,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said at a Defense Department briefing on Saturday.
“They were ISIS-K planners and facilitators and that’s enough reason there alone. I won’t speak to the details of these individuals and what their specific roles might be,” Kirby said. He added: “We have the ability and the means to carry over the horizon counterterrorism capabilities and we’re going to defend ourselves.’’
He declined to identify those killed but said the United States knew who they were. US Central Command said it believed its strike killed no civilians.
The airstrike came after Biden declared on Thursday that perpetrators of the attack would not be able to hide. “We will hunt you down and make you pay.”
The US President authorised the drone strike and it was ordered by defence secretary Lloyd Austin, an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The airstrike was launched from beyond Afghanistan and the Central Command said it was conducted in Nangarhar province.
The speed with which the US military retaliated reflected its close monitoring of IS and years of experience in targeting extremists in remote parts of the world. But it also shows the limits of US power to eliminate extremist threats, which some believe will have more freedom of movement in Afghanistan now that the Taliban is in power.
Spokesmen for the Taliban, which took over Afghanistan as US forces withdrew, did not comment on the drone strike.
The Chinese defence ministry on Saturday protested against the passage of two US warships through the Taiwan Strait, saying it had closely monitored them and is maintaining a state of high alert.
The passage comes amid a spike in military tensions in the past two years between Taiwan and China, and follows Chinese “assault drills” held near Taiwan last week for which the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) deployed battle ships and fighter jets.
“The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100) and legendclass US Coast Guard National Security Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) conducted routine Taiwan Strait transits August 27 (local time) through international waters in accordance with international law,” Lt Mark Langford, 7th Fleet spokesperson said late on Friday.
“The ships’ lawful transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows,” the statement added.
The Chinese defence minister reacted angrily against the US move on Saturday morning.
A statement posted on the ministry’s website on Saturday called the move provocative.
It added that the passage of the ships showed that the United States is the biggest threat to peace and stability and creator of security risks in the 160km wide Taiwan Strait.
Pentagon holds talks with Chinese military
A senior Pentagon official held talks with the Chinese military for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January, a US official told Reuters on Friday.
Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defence for China, spoke last week with Chinese Major Gen Huang Xueping, deputy director for the People’s Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation.
“(They) utilised the US-PRC Defence Telephone Link to conduct a secure video conference,” the US official said.
“Both sides agreed on the importance of maintaining open channels of communication between the two militaries,” the official added.