US airstrike targets Daesh in Afghanistan, pushes airlift into final stage
The US and the POW/MIA flags fly at half-mast above the White House in Washington on Friday. AFP
The United States launched a drone strike against a Daesh attack "planner" in eastern Afghanistan, the military said on Friday, as the airlift of those desperate to flee moved into its fraught final stages with fresh terror attack warnings and encroaching Taliban forces primed to take over Kabul airport.
President Joe Biden pauses as he speaks about the bombings at the Kabul airport on Thursday in Washington. AP
Earlier, President Joe Biden promised to retaliate for the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport, saying he had ordered the Pentagon to come up with plans to strike at the perpetrators.
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The suicide attack was claimed by a regional chapter of the Daesh group. At least 13 US troops and scores of Afghan civilians were killed on Thursday, and the Pentagon announced it had carried out a drone attack on a "planner" from the militant group in eastern Afghanistan.
US Central Command said the strike took place in Nangarhar province, east of Kabul and bordering Pakistan.
A screen grab shows people carrying an injured person to a hospital after an attack at Kabul airport on Thursday. Reuters
“Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties,” a US military statement said. It did not say whether the target was connected with the airport attack.
A reaper drone, which took off from the Middle East, struck the militant while he was in a car with a Daesh associate, the official said. Both are believed to have been killed, the official added.
With the airlift window narrowing sharply ahead of an August 31 deadline, more than 5,000 people remain inside Kabul airport awaiting evacuation, and crowds continue to throng the perimeter gates pleading for entry.
Late Friday, the State Department again urged Americans to stay away from airport gates, including "the New Ministry of Interior gate.”
