Afghanistan: US bombs ISIS operative | Retaliation for Kabul airport bombing

The Pentagon reported that the US military attacked Islamic State (IS) operative in Afghanistan with drone, whom he suspects of being an “organizer” of the militia responsible for the double attack near Kabul airport. In this attack, 13 US servicemen died, the worst blow received in a decade.

After Thursday’s double attack, the president Joe Biden had promised that he would “track down” and “make pay” “everywhere” those responsible for the attacks which bloodied the military withdrawal, marked by chaos, improvisation and criticism of the White House decision.

The reprisals took place east of Kabul against a suspected member of the extremist militia who claimed responsibility for the two attacks, which killed a total of around 100, according to various unofficial versions circulated by the international press.

Bombing with an unmanned ship performed in Nangahar province, Afghanistan. Initial reports maintain that the target, “an organizer” of the Afghan branch of ISIS (Islamic State-Khorasan) has died, the Pentagon said in a statement. The spokesperson said only one person was killed in the attack and no civilian casualties were reported.

After the drone attack, the US embassy in Afghanistan has warned its citizens who are still in the country (it is estimated that there are around a thousand) move away “immediately” from the gates of Kabul airport, where they must arrive to be evacuated, for fear of further attacks.

Flights from Kabul

Specifically, evacuation flights resumed amid fears of further attacks and shortly before the United States attacked with the drone. Hours before the retaliation, the United States again warned that there were still “specific and credible threats” of further attacks before next Tuesday, a date set by Biden to complete the withdrawal of his country’s troops from Afghanistan. after their defeat against the Taliban in the 20 years of their longest war.

The US Department of Defense said as of Saturday there were still 5,400 people inside the airport and that he will continue his air evacuations “until the last moment”. So far, evacuees in the past 12 hours have passed 4,200, according to the White House.

Dozens of Taliban fighters, armed with heavy weapons, patrolled an area about 500 meters from the air base to prevent people from passing beyond. Many more Afghans are expected to leave the country through its land borders, and the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said there could be half a million more Afghan refugees this year “in the worst case”..

At the same time, the number of victims of the attacks increased this Saturday at least 97 Afghans killed and 160 wounded, according to what was reported by the Arab news channel Al Jazeera. The American news channel CBS News estimated the death toll at 170 and the injured at 200, citing a source in the ousted Afghan government’s health ministry.

The United States said on Friday that 13 of its troops were also killed and 18 wounded in the bombing, the biggest US military loss in Afghanistan since August 2011. The UK reported two Britons and the son of a British citizen were among the dead.

Evacuations

At New York, the Security Council, the highest body of the UN, urged the international community “to cooperate actively with the competent authorities” bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice.

The Taliban’s reconquest of power in Afghanistan reaches 20 years after its previous government was overthrown by an international invasion led by the United States as part of the war “against terrorism” launched after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in that country.

His return to power terrified many Afghans who fear reprisals for having collaborated or worked for foreign forces or that the Taliban will reimpose the draconian measures that characterized their previous government, when they carried out extrajudicial killings and deprived women of all their rights.

Some Western countries have already ended their evacuationsin part to give the United States time to complete its own operations before withdrawing the last 5,000 troops it has in Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 31.

The UK said its evacuations would end in a few hours, while France announced Friday evening the end of its operation at Kabul airport.

The operation “started on August 15 at the request of the President of the Republic ended this evening”, tweeted Defense Minister Florence Parly, specifying that “nearly 3,000 people, including more than 2,600 Afghans” they were taken out of the country.

Spain and Italy also ended their operations todayas well as Germany, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia and Norway, many of whom admit to leaving people behind, including some 300 German citizens.