The attacks in Kabul repositioned the bitter adversary Islamic State in the United States

CAIRO / WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) – US military commanders vowed to hunt down Islamic State leaders after suicide bombing at Kabul airport on Thursday, pledging revenge. se of the long-standing American adversary for the deaths of dozens of Afghans and American Troops.

“We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will persecute you and make you pay,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in emotional statements to the White House, promising that the group’s actions would not stop a mass evacuation airlift.

Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), affiliated with militants who previously fought U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq, said it had carried out the attack, which killed dozens of people, including Afghans. who were trying to leave the country and at least a dozen members of the American service.

Claiming responsibility, the Islamic State said a suicide bomber “managed to reach a large concentration of translators and collaborators with the US military at Camp Baran” near Kabul airport. , and detonated the explosive belt between them, killing about 60 people and injuring more than 100 others, including Taliban fighters. “

A Taliban official told Reuters that the group arrested an ISIS fighter at the airport a few days ago and that, in an interrogation, he explained their plans for attacks. In response, the Taliban said it was postponing meetings in public places and advised its top leaders not to meet.

Biden said he had ordered military commanders to develop plans to attack ISIS assets, leaders and facilities. “We will respond with strength and precision in our time in a place we choose at a time we choose,” he said.

He said the United States had an idea of ​​who had ordered the attacks, though he was unsure.

ISIS-K is a sworn enemy of the Taliban. But U.S. intelligence officials believe the move used the instability that led to the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government this month to bolster its position and intensify recruitment. of unauthorized Taliban members.

“NOBLE MISSION”

Thousands of U.S. troops have been deployed at Kabul airport to carry out a large airlift of U.S. citizens, Afghans who helped U.S. forces and others who fear their freedom and security now that the Taliban have taken power in Afghanistan.

“We have put more than 5,000 members of the American service at risk to save as many civilians as we can. It is a noble mission. And today we have seen first hand how dangerous this mission is,” the naval general told reporters Frank McKenzie, United States Central Command. at the Pentagon. “ISIS will not stop us from fulfilling the mission, I can assure you.”

He warned that more attacks were expected, although the military was doing everything possible to prepare.

McKenzie said the United States was willing to use attack aircraft to defend the airport if necessary, including with AC-130 guns. “We will be prepared to do so, in case it is necessary to defend the base,” he said.

Thursday’s attack also raised concerns about U.S. counterterrorism capability in Afghanistan, as there were no U.S. troops or reliable partners left, militant-emptied prisons and the Taliban in control. Read more

Washington went to war in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks by militants who had found a safe haven in the country when it was last ruled by the Taliban.

Independent UN experts had already informed the Security Council in a report released last month that ISIS-Khorasan had expanded its presence in several provinces, including Kabul, and that fighters had formed sleeping cells.

“The group has strengthened its positions in and around Kabul, where it carries out most of its attacks, targeting minorities, activists, government employees and personnel of the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces,” the report said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported in June to the Security Council that the attacks claimed or attributed to ISIS-Khorasan increased to 88 between March and June, compared to 16 during the same period in 2020.

Reports by Ahmad Elhamy in Cairo, Patricia Zengerle, Michael Martina and Idrees Ali in Washington, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar; Edited by Mary Milliken and Daniel Wallis

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