Photo: US soldiers standing guard outside Kabul airport
The US military has said it has carried out a drone strike against a “planner” of the so-called Islamic State-Khorasan, the group which claimed credit for the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport.
Captain Bill Urban of the Central Command said: “The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target.”
“We know of no civilian casualties,” he added in a statement announcing the first reported US strike since the attack.
The strike, launched from outside of Afghanistan, came as the airlift of evacuees from Kabul airport continued under much-heightened security after Thursday’s attack.
At least 78 people were killed, including 13 US troops, when a suicide attacker exploded a bomb in the dense crowd in front of the airport’s Abbey Gate. Some media reported that fatalities numbered close to 200.
US officials said gunmen opened fire after the explosion, adding to the carnage.
The attack was carried out by the violent Afghan arm of the Islamic State group.
Following the attack, US President Joe Biden vowed retaliation.
On Thursday, President Biden said: “To those who carried out this attack as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”
