U.S. Strikes Explosive-Laden Automobile in Kabul

WASHINGTON — A U.S. army drone strike blew up a car laden with explosives in Kabul on Sunday, Protection Division officers mentioned, hours after President Biden had warned that one other terrorist assault in opposition to the Afghan capital’s airport was “extremely probably.”

The strike, which got here two days earlier than Mr. Biden’s deadline to withdraw from the nation, eradicated an imminent risk to Hamid Karzai Worldwide Airport from the Islamic State Khorasan group, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command mentioned. The group had claimed duty for the suicide bombing on the airport on Thursday that killed 13 American service members and as many as 170 civilians.

The spokesman, Capt. Invoice City, mentioned the army was attempting to find out whether or not the strike had brought on civilian casualties, although he famous that there was no fast proof of that.

“We’re assured we efficiently hit the goal,” he mentioned. “Important secondary explosions from the car indicated the presence of a considerable quantity of explosive materials.”

A senior army official mentioned the USA was assured that no civilians had been within the car, however acknowledged that the secondary explosions might need brought on some “collateral harm.”

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, mentioned that civilians had suffered casualties within the strike and {that a} home had been focused. “We’re investigating the rationale of the airstrike and the precise variety of casualties,” he mentioned.

The strike adopted a retaliatory strike on Friday for the suicide bombing, which was one of many deadliest within the almost twenty years for the reason that U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. Earlier on Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul had mentioned that there was a “particular, credible risk” to the airport space. State Division officers have issued a number of related warnings in current days.

As American troops transfer to finish their withdrawal, the Pentagon has shifted its focus from vetting and airlifting Afghan and American civilians to bringing its personnel residence. On the identical time, U.S. intelligence sources are refining goal websites for attainable drone strikes on suspected Islamic State militants, specifically suicide bombers aiming to assault the airport.

The strike on Sunday, which was carried out by an MQ-9 Reaper drone working from a base within the United Arab Emirates, demonstrated the diploma to which American intelligence officers have refined their goal checklist, protection officers mentioned. A Hellfire missile fired from the Reaper hit the car roughly two miles from the airport, a army official mentioned.

Primarily based on the secondary explosions after the drone strike, the army assessed that there have been one to 3 individuals within the car sporting explosive vests. There might have been different explosives within the automotive, making it a vehicle-borne bomb itself, two protection officers mentioned.

Prior to now 24 hours, the USA has evacuated about 2,000 individuals on army transport planes, together with greater than 100 Americans. The army decided that there have been nonetheless about 250 People in Kabul who had expressed a want to depart.

Jake Sullivan, the nationwide safety adviser, talking on “Fox Information Sunday,” mentioned the variety of Americans in Kabul could also be nearer to 300. “There are some individuals who have chosen, up to now, to not depart and that’s their proper,” he mentioned.

“They aren’t going to be caught in Afghanistan” after Tuesday, Mr. Sullivan added. “We’re going to be sure that we’ve got a mechanism to get them in a foreign country ought to they select sooner or later to return residence.”

Army officers mentioned that that they had no indication that Mr. Biden would ask the army to remain previous Tuesday to get extra People or susceptible Afghans in a foreign country.

However the drone strike on Sunday demonstrated how harmful the final two days in America’s 20-year struggle could be, protection officers acknowledged. The strike follows the one on Friday on a car in Nangarhar Province, close to the Pakistan border, which the Pentagon press secretary, John F. Kirby, mentioned killed two “high-profile” Islamic State militants — one a “planner” and one a “facilitator.”