US airstrike targets Islamic State member in Afghanistan

The US military has conducted an airstrike against an Islamic State member in Afghanistan after a suicide bombing claimed by the group killed as many as 169 Afghans and 13 American service members at the Kabul airport.

US Central Command said a drone strike was conducted against an Islamic State member in Nangahar believed to be involved in planning attacks against the US in Kabul.

The strike killed one individual, and spokesman navy captain William Urban said they knew of no civilian casualties.

It was not clear if that individual was involved specifically in the Thursday suicide blast outside the gates of the Kabul airport, where crowds of Afghans were desperately trying to get in as part of the ongoing evacuation from the country after the Taliban’s rapid takeover.

The airstrike fulfilled a vow President Joe Biden made to the nation on Thursday when he said the perpetrators of the attack would not be able to hide.

“We will hunt you down and make you pay,” he said. Pentagon leaders told reporters on Friday that they were prepared for whatever retaliatory action the president ordered.

Major General Hank Taylor of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff said: “We have options there right now.”

Published: 28/08/2021 by Radio NewsHub