Airport attack planner killed in drone strike: US

KABUL (Pajhwok): A planner of the deadly attack on the Kabul airport has been killed in a drone strike in eastern Afghanistan, the US military claimed on Saturday.

More than 100 people, including 13 US service members and 22 Taliban fighters, were killed in Thursday’s explosions attacks at the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The ISIS-K, locally known as Daesh, claimed responsibility for the attack, prompting an immediate response from US President Joe Biden, who vowed to punish the perpetrators.

A spokesperson for the US Central Command said: “US military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner.”

Captain Bill Urban said in a statement: “The unmanned airstrike occurred in Nangarhar province. Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties.”

Without identifying the targeted individual, the spokesperson suggested this could be the first of many reprisals at ISIS-K targets for the terrorist attacks at the airport.

At a Friday news briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the insurgents were planning another attack in Kabul. “The threat is ongoing. Our troops are still in danger.”

Late on Friday, the US Embassy in Kabul warned US citizens still at the Kabul airport to leave immediately.

PAN Monitor/mud