U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby (R) and Army Major General William Taylor (L), Joint Staff deputy director for local operations, take part in a news instruction at the Pentagon on August 23, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia.
Alex Wong|Getty Images
WASHINGTON– The Pentagon stated Saturday that 2 prominent ISIS-K targets were eliminated in a U.S. drone strike inAfghanistan The advancement comes less than 2 days after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near evictions of Kabul’s airport, leading to the deaths of 13 American service members.
The Pentagon stated the strike targeted 2 ISIS-K members thought to be associated with preparing attacks versus U.S. forces inKabul ArmyMaj Gen. William Taylor stated Saturday that there were no recognized civilian casualties following the strike.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby stated that the U.S. did not alert nor collaborate with the Taliban ahead of the strike. He included that the Defense Department did not alert other nations in the area nor U.S. legislators.
The newest discovery comes as Western forces finish an enormous humanitarian evacuation objective, which is slated to end in 3 days.
“We are going to complete this mission by the end of the month,” Kirby stated, including “nothing has changed about the timeline for us.”
“We will do this in as safe and orderly way as possible and that includes being able to continue to evacuate right up until the end,” Kirby stated.
The Pentagon likewise validated that the U.S. armed force in Kabul has actually started its retrograde, or withdrawal, procedure from the nation. Kirby stated that less than 5,000 service members stay in the nation, including that the U.S. would no longer supply a precise number due to security conditions.
In the last 24 hours, Western forces left 6,800 individuals out of Kabul on 66 military freight airplane flights. Since the mass evacuations started on August 14, roughly 111,900 individuals have actually been airlifted out of Afghanistan.
About 117,500 individuals have actually been left given that completion of July, consisting of about 5,400 U.S. people and their households.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated Friday that roughly 500 Americans are still looking for evacuation.
Evacuees wait to board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III throughout an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 23, 2021.
Sgt Isaiah Campbell|U.S. Marine Corps|through Reuters
President Joe Biden has formerly stated that ISIS-K presented a growing risk to the airport, including that this was why the United States will withdraw its military from Afghanistan by the end of the month.
“I’ve repeatedly said this mission was extraordinarily dangerous, and that’s why I’ve been so determined to limit the duration of this mission,” Biden stated Thursday at the White House.
“We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission. We will continue the evacuation,” Biden stated, including “America will not be intimidated.”
Biden resolved those accountable for the attack, stating, “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.” The president stated that he bought the Pentagon to “develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership and facilities.”
“We will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place we choose and at the moment of our choosing,” Biden stated, suggesting that the U.S. had leads on the ISIS-K leaders who bought the attack.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated that the president’s nationwide security group alerted on Friday that “another terrorist attack in Kabul is likely.” She included that U.S. military leaders on the ground “are taking maximum force protection measures at the Kabul Airport.”
