The United States has carried out another strike against ISIS in Afghanistan. According to multiple reports, the unmanned drone airstrike eliminated a car carrying suspected ISIS-K suicide bombers who were headed to the Hamid Karzai International Airport. The blast could be heard near the north gate of the airport, according to India’s news network WION.
The Washington Post cites a U.S. military official who said there were “significant secondary explosions” after the strike which indicates a “substantial amount of explosive material” was present in the vehicle.
“We are confident we successfully hit the target. Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material. We are assessing the possibilities of civilian casualties, though we have no indications at this time.”
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) August 29, 2021
Late Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul had warned Americans to exit the airport due to a “specific, credible threat” to the airport area.
The strike comes just three days after the suicide bombing outside of the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghan civilians and left dozens of other people injured. Another U.S. drone attack on Saturday killed two ISIS-K members suspected of being involved in the airport bombing. President Biden vowed that American forces will not relent in seeking justice for the victims of Thursday’s attack.
“We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay.”
Today in a separate incident a rocket hit a neighborhood just northwest of the airport. The Washington Post reports:
Separately, a Taliban spokesman said Sunday that a “rocket” had struck a home located on the outskirts of Kabul’s international airport.
The spokesman, Bilal Karimi, said it was unclear yet whether any casualties had resulted from the attack, in the Khawaj Bughra neighborhood, northwest of Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Watch more about the rocket attack above from WION.