US airstrike targets Islamic State member in Afghanistan

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WASHINGTON – Acting swiftly connected President Joe Biden's committedness to retaliate for the deadly termination bombing astatine Kabul airport, the U.S. subject said it utilized a drone onslaught to termination a subordinate of the Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate.

The onslaught Saturday came amid what the White House called indications that IS planned to onslaught again arsenic the U.S.-led evacuation from Kabul airdrome moved into its last days. Biden has acceptable Tuesday arsenic his deadline for completing the exit.

Biden authorized the drone onslaught and it was ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a defence authoritative said, speaking connected information of anonymity to supply details not yet publically announced.

The airstrike was launched from beyond Afghanistan little than 48 hours aft the devastating Kabul onslaught that killed 13 Americans and scores of Afghans with conscionable days near successful a last U.S. withdrawal aft 20 years of war. U.S. Central Command provided fewer details; it said it believed its onslaught killed nary civilians.

The velocity with which the U.S. subject retaliated reflected its adjacent monitoring of IS and years of acquisition successful targeting extremists successful distant parts of the world. But it besides shows the limits of U.S. powerfulness to destruct extremist threats, which immoderate judge volition person much state of question successful Afghanistan present that the Taliban is successful power.

Central Command said the drone onslaught was conducted successful Nangahar state against an IS subordinate believed to beryllium progressive successful readying attacks against the United States successful Kabul. The onslaught killed 1 individual, spokesperson Navy Capt. William Urban said.

It wasn’t wide if the targeted idiosyncratic was progressive straight successful the Thursday termination blast extracurricular the gates of the Kabul airport, wherever crowds of Afghans were desperately trying to get successful arsenic portion of the ongoing evacuation.

The airstrike came aft Biden declared Thursday that perpetrators of the onslaught would not beryllium capable to hide. “We volition hunt you down and marque you pay,” helium said. Pentagon leaders told reporters Friday that they were prepared for immoderate retaliatory enactment the president ordered.

“We person options determination close now,” said Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.

The president was warned Friday to expect different lethal onslaught successful the closing days of a frantic U.S.-led evacuation. White House property caput Jen Psaki said Biden's nationalist information squad offered a grim outlook.

"They advised the president and vice president that different panic onslaught successful Kabul is likely, but that they are taking maximum unit extortion measures astatine the Kabul airport,” Psaki said, echoing what the Pentagon has been saying since the bombing Thursday astatine Kabul airport.

Late Friday, the State Department again urged Americans to enactment distant from airdrome gates, including “the New Ministry of Interior gate.”

Few caller details astir the airdrome onslaught emerged a time later, but the Pentagon corrected its archetypal study that determination had been termination bombings astatine 2 locations. It said determination was conscionable 1 — astatine oregon adjacent the Abbey Gate — followed by gunfire. The archetypal study of a 2nd bombing astatine the adjacent Baron Hotel proved to beryllium false, said Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor of the Pentagon's Joint Staff; helium attributed the mistake to archetypal confusion.

Based connected a preliminary assessment, U.S. officials judge the termination vest utilized successful the attack, which killed astatine slightest 169 Afghans successful summation to the 13 Americans, carried astir 25 pounds of explosives and was loaded with shrapnel, a U.S. authoritative said Friday. A termination weaponry typically carries 5 to 10 pounds of explosives, said the official, who spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon preliminary assessments of the bombing.

Biden inactive faces the occupation implicit the longer word of containing an array of imaginable extremist threats based successful Afghanistan, which volition beryllium harder with less U.S. quality assets and nary subject beingness successful the nation.

Emily Harding, a erstwhile CIA expert and lawman unit manager for the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she doubted Biden’s assurances that the United States volition beryllium capable to show and onslaught panic threats from beyond Afghanistan’s borders. The Pentagon besides insists this alleged “over the horizon” capability, which includes surveillance and onslaught craft based successful the Persian Gulf area, volition beryllium effective.

In an Oval Office quality Friday, Biden again expressed his condolences to victims of the attack. The instrumentality location of U.S. subject members' remains successful coming days volition supply achy and poignant reminders not conscionable of the devastation astatine the Kabul airdrome but besides of the costly mode the warfare is ending. More than 2,400 U.S. work members died successful the warfare and tens of thousands were injured implicit the past 2 decades.

The Marine Corps said 11 of the 13 Americans killed were Marines. One was a Navy sailor and 1 an Army soldier. Their names person not been released pending notification of their families, a sometimes-lengthy process that Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said involves “difficult conversations.”

Still, sorrowful details of those killed were starting to emerge. One Marine from Wyoming was connected his archetypal circuit successful Afghanistan and his woman is expecting a babe successful 3 weeks; different was a 20-year-old antheral from Missouri whose begetter was devastated by the loss. A third, a 20-year-old from Texas, had joined the equipped services retired of precocious school.

Biden ordered U.S. flags to half-staff crossed the state successful grant of the 13.

They were the archetypal U.S. work members killed successful Afghanistan since February 2020, the period the Trump medication struck an statement with the Taliban that called for the militant radical to halt attacks connected Americans successful speech for a U.S. statement to region each American troops and contractors by May 2021. Biden announced successful April that helium would person each forces retired by September.

Psaki said the adjacent fewer days of the ngo to evacuate Americans and others, including susceptible Afghans fleeing Taliban rule, “will beryllium the astir unsafe play to date.”

The White House said that arsenic of Friday morning, about 12,500 radical were airlifted from Kabul successful the past 24 hours connected U.S. and conjugation aircraft; successful the 12 hours that followed, different 4,200 radical were evacuated. Psaki said astir 300 Americans had departed and the State Department was moving with astir 500 much who privation to leave. The medication has said it intends to propulsion connected and implicit the airlift contempt the panic threats.

Kirby told reporters the U.S. subject is monitoring credible, circumstantial Islamic State threats “in existent time.”

“We surely are prepared and would expect aboriginal attempts,” Kirby said. He declined to picture details of immoderate further information measures being taken, including those implemented by the Taliban, astir the airdrome gates and perimeter. He said determination were less radical successful and astir the gates Friday.

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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Darlene Superville and Nomaan Merchant successful Washington contributed to this report.

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