Americans carry out retaliatory attack on Afghan branch of IS: ‘target killed’
The United States claims to have killed a target of IS-Khorasan, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, with a drone in Afghanistan. The militant is said to have been involved in planning attacks.
The mission was carried out in the context of counter-terrorism, one day after a suicide bomber blew himself up at Kabul airport. The official death toll stands at 92, but there may have been 180 deaths according to various media. Among them are thirteen American soldiers.
The Defense Ministry did not say whether the target was directly involved in the airport massacre, claimed by IS-K. An anonymous government source says this was not the case and said the person was suspected of planning future attacks. The target’s identity has not been made public.
Warning
The planner was in Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, and bordering Pakistan at the time of the drone strike. The militant was in a car, which also contained another person who is with IS. Both were killed, the Americans said. There have been no known civilian casualties.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden warned those responsible for the deadly attack in Kabul. ‘We will not forgive you, we will not forget you, we will make you pay,’ he stressed in a speech from the White House. He also stated that he had ordered an attack on IS-K.
The group has carried out several deadly attacks in Afghanistan in recent years. IS-K consists of Muslim extremists who find the Taliban, the country’s new rulers, too moderate. The two factions see each other as enemies.
