BREAKING NEWS: US Drone Successfully Kills Car Bombers Planning Second Airport Attack in Kabul
By Nikki Slusher
Al Jazeera has reported that on Sunday an US drone strike had struck a vehicle which is believed to be carrying “multiple suicide bombers” affiliated with Afghanistan’s ISIL terrorists before the group was able to reach their target. It is believed that they were planning to target current military evacuations at Kabul’s International Airport, American officials told the outlet.
Few details are available at this time, but the drone strike isn’t the only explosion that happened today. A rocket struck a neighborhood that’s located nearby the airport where a child has reportedly been killed. Taliban officials have stated that the strikes are separate occurrences. It is unclear who is responsible for the neighborhood attack at this time.
Sunday’s US air strike comes just days before the historic evacuation by the US and allies of soldiers, citizens, foreign nationals and Afghan refugees ends this upcoming Tuesday. Approximately 114,400 people have been airlifted out of the country in the last few weeks, causing much chaos around the Kabul airport since the Taliban’s initial takeover of the country two weeks ago.
After numerous caution warnings by the president and senior officials tensions rose after a suicide bombing at the airport on Thursday killed at least 175 people, including 13 members of the US military. Our country’s fallen heroes in Thursday’s attack were between the ages of 20 and 23 years old, with one marine whose wife is expecting their first child in three weeks. A group affiliated to ISIL — known as ISKP (or ISIS-K) — proudly claimed responsibility for the attack. The group’s name change of ISKP stands for the Islamic State Khorasan Province named after the state where they were established.
The spokesperson for the US military’s Central Command, US Navy Captain Bill Urban, told Al Jazeera that today’s drone strike was a preemptive measure as an act of “self-defense.” Urban also stated that officials are continuing to assess “the possibilities of civilian casualties, though we have no indications at this time.”
“We are confident we successfully hit the target. Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material,” Urban said. Taliban leaders have also confirmed the US completed a successful military strike on ISIS-K targets. The Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid commented on the matter, “The vehicle and those inside it were killed in the drone strike.”
The Associated Press reported that two US military officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, who were familiar with the air strike called it “successful” and confirmed the vehicle was carrying multiple suicide bombers. This is the second strike conducted by US forces since Thursday’s catastrophic attack. On Saturday, the Pentagon reported that retaliatory drone strikes had killed “two high-level ISKP targets” in eastern Afghanistan; however, Pres. Joe Biden and defense officials have warned that the group is planning more attacks.
During his address to the nation on Saturday, Pres. Biden said, “The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks on the airport remains high. Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24-36 hours.” The American embassy in Kabul, which will also be fully evacuated by Tuesday, has been releasing continuous warnings about credible threats regarding specific locations (i.e. access gates).
The president and senior US officials have yet to comment on Sunday’s air strike. More information is expected to be released later. We will update this story once more details are available.
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