U.S. Marines provide assistance at an evacuation checkpoint (ECC) during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, on August 22, 2021.
US Marines Reuters
WASHINGTON – The United States carried out a military strike on Sunday against an ISIS-K target in Kabul, a development that takes place in the last days of an immense humanitarian evacuation mission.
“U.S. military forces today carried out an unmanned airstrike on a vehicle in Kabul, which has removed an imminent ISIS-K threat at Hamad Karzai International Airport,” the Central Command spokesman wrote. of the United States, Navy Captain Bill Urban in a statement. .
“We are confident that we have successfully achieved the goal. Significant secondary explosions of the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material,” he added.
No civilian casualties were reported after the strike.
The latest strike comes after a drone strike that killed two high-profile ISIS-K members in Afghanistan. The Pentagon said Saturday that the strike was aimed at two ISIS-K members believed to be involved in planning attacks on U.S. forces in Kabul. Army Major General William Taylor said no civilian casualties were known after the strike.
Sunday’s strike comes as a warning from President Joe Biden’s national security team a day before an attack on Kabul airport is “very likely in the next 24-36 hours.”
“The situation on the ground remains extremely dangerous and the threat of terrorist attacks at the airport remains high,” President Joe Biden said in a statement on Saturday, adding that he directed U.S. commanders to ” take all possible measures to prioritize the protection of the force “. “
Marine Corps General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told reporters Thursday that ISIS is likely to try to continue the attacks before the evacuations end.
“We believe his desire is to continue these attacks and we hope that these attacks will continue,” the four-star general told the Pentagon press, adding that the U.S. was monitoring an “extremely active stream of threats against the United States.” aerodrome “.
McKenzie, who oversees U.S. military operations in the region, said threats against Western forces and civilians at the airport range from gunfire to rockets to suicide bombings.
“So very, very real threat flows, what we would call tactical meaning imminent, could occur at any time,” he said. McKenzie said he did not plan to request additional U.S. troops for the mission.
In the last 24 hours, Western forces have evacuated 2,900 people from Kabul on 41 flights of military cargo planes. Since the mass evacuations began on August 14, approximately 114,400 people have been airlifted from Afghanistan.
Some 120,000 people have been evacuated since the end of July, including some 5,400 American citizens and their families.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday that about 500 Americans are still seeking evacuation.
This story is unfolding. Please check for updates again.