US military strike targets Kabul
KABUL: American forces launched a military strike in Kabul yesterday targeting a possible suicide car bomb that was aiming to attack the airport, US officials said.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike targeted suspected ISIS-K militants. They said they were citing initial information and cautioned it could change.
Witnesses reported an explosion near Kabul airport and television footage showed black smoke rising into the sky.
There was no immediate word on casualties. Two witnesses said the blast appeared to have been caused by a rocket that struck a house in an area to the northern side of the airport, but there was no immediate confirmation.
It came hours after US President Joe Biden warned of another terror attack added to frayed nerves in the capital as a massive airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans entered its last days.
About 114 000 people have fled the country via a US-led evacuation since the Taliban swept back into power two weeks ago, and the operation is winding down despite Western powers saying thousands may be left behind.
What had already been a chaotic and desperate operation turned bloody on Thursday when a suicide bomber from the local chapter of the Islamic State group targeted US troops stopping huge crowds of people from entering the airport.
More than 100 people died in the attack, including 13 US service personnel, slowing down the airlift before Biden’s deadline for evacuations to end by tomorrow.
The Pentagon said on Saturday that retaliation drone strikes had killed two “high-level” IS jihadists in eastern Afghanistan, but Biden warned of more attacks from the group.
“The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks on the airport remains high,” Biden said.
“Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24-36 hours.”
The US embassy in Kabul later released a warning of credible threats
at specific areas of the airport, including access gates.
Late yesterday afternoon, a loud blast was heard coming from the north of the city, which a security official in the toppled government said was a rocket hitting a house.
Further details were not immediately available.
In recent years, the Afghanistan-Pakistan Isis chapter has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in those countries. They have massacred civilians at mosques, public squares, schools and even hospitals.
While both IS and the Taliban are hardline Sunni Islamists, they are bitter foes – with each claiming to be the true flag-bearers of jihad.
The IS attack has forced the US military and the Taliban into a form of co-operation to ensure security at the airport that was unthinkable two weeks ago.On Saturday, Taliban fighters escorted a steady stream of Afghans from buses to the main passenger terminal, handing them over to US forces for evacuation.
The troops were seen throughout the civilian side of the airport grounds and annexe buildings, while US Marines peered at them from the passenger terminal roof. After a 20-year war, the foes were within open sight of each other, separated by just 30m.
Also in view of the US troops were the Taliban’s “Badri” special forces in American Humvees gifted to the now-vanquished Afghan army.
Taliban spokesperson Bilal Karimi tweeted that the group’s fighters had already moved into parts of the military side of the airport, but the Pentagon stressed that US forces retained control over the gates and the airlift.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said US troops had started withdrawing – without saying how many were left.
Biden was headed to an air force base in Delaware yesterday, where the remains of the servicemen killed in Kabul have been transferred, to attend a ceremony and meet the victims’ families. Western allies that helped with the airlift have mostly already ended their flights, with some voicing despair at not being able to fly out everyone at risk.