Afghanistan: Joe Biden warns another airport attack 'highly likely in next 24-36 hours'; vows more strikes on ISIS-K
A planner and a facilitator were killed in the drone strike, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed.
Wednesday 1 September 2021 10:11, UK
President Joe Biden has warned that another terror attack at Kabul airport is "highly likely in the next 24-36 hours" - and vowed further US airstrikes against ISIS-K targets.
Speaking after the Pentagon confirmed that two "high-profile" members of the terrorist group had been killed in an American strike, Mr Biden said he expected more violence in the Afghan capital before the looming US withdrawal deadline on 31 August.
"The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks on the airport remains high," he said in a statement.
"Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24-36 hours."
With another attack against Kabul airport a near certainty, the State Department reiterated its warning to Americans on Saturday night to immediately leave the area due to "a specific, credible threat", including the south gate, new Ministry of Interior, and gate near Panjshir petrol station.
"US citizens should avoid traveling to the airport and avoid all airport gates at this time," the department added.
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At an earlier news briefing, Major General William "Hank" Taylor confirmed Thursday's US drone strike had killed an ISIS-K planner and a facilitator.
Mr Biden said the airstrike would "not be the last", adding: "We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay."
A Taliban spokesman said the Americans "should have informed us" before conducting the airstrike.
"It was a clear attack on Afghan territory - two people were killed, two women and a child were wounded," he said.
The spokesman also said the airport will be under complete Taliban control "very soon", adding: "We have enough security and technical staff to operate Kabul airport."
When questioned about the US airstrike, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said: "They lost a planner and they lost a facilitator and they have got one wounded - the fact that two of these individuals are no longer walking on the face of the Earth, that is a good thing.
"It is a good thing for the people of Afghanistan and it is a good thing for our troops at that airfield."
However, he continued: "We aren't thinking for a minute that what happened yesterday gets us in the clear. Not a minute.
"But do we believe that we hit valid targets, bad guys who can do bad things and can plan bad missions, absolutely.
"And do we think that will have some impact on their ability going forward. What and how much, we are just going to have to keep watching the intelligence going forward."
The airstrike was a retaliation for a devastating suicide bombing that killed between 79 and 169 Afghans, 13 US military personnel and two Britons.
It is not known if the two people killed were involved in Thursday's attack.
The unnamed fighter had been riding in a vehicle with an associate at the time of the strike, which was carried out by an MQ-9 Reaper drone using munitions chosen for precision and in order to minimise civilian casualties, said Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for US Central Command on Saturday.
The Pentagon said about 6,800 individuals were flown out of Kabul in the 24 hours up to Saturday morning, taking the total numbers evacuated from Afghanistan to 113,500.
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"We are going to complete this mission by the end of the month, nothing has changed about that timeline for us," said Mr Kirby.
He said the threats are "still very real and very dynamic and we are monitoring them in real-time".