US strike against IS target, evacuations near end

The United States carried out a drone strike this Saturday against a target of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan. “The unmanned airstrike occurred in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan. According to the first indications, we killed the target “, specified in a statement Bill Urban, of the central command, saying not to have knowledge” of no civilian victims “.

The strike, launched from outside Afghanistan, is the first by the US military since the attack on Thursday at Kabul airport. It also comes as the airlift at Kabul airport enters its final phase under extreme stress, with the risk of further attacks continuing.

Risk of further attacks persists, Washington says

After the attack claimed by ISIS in Khorasan (IS-K), Joe Biden had promised retaliation. “We will hunt you down and we will make you pay,” the US president said to the perpetrators of the deadliest attack on the US military in Afghanistan since 2011. “We will respond with force and precision when we decide. , where and when we choose it, ”he added from the White House.

The risk of further attacks persists, according to Washington. “We believe that there are always (…) specific and credible threats,” John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, warned on Friday. President Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki, citing security experts, said another attack was “likely.” The next few days will be “the most dangerous time yet,” she added.

Communication weapons pass between the Taliban and the Americans

Friday evening, like the day before the attack, the United States Embassy in Kabul asked American nationals to leave the area around the airport “immediately” because of “security threats”. At the same time, a pass of communication weapons between the Taliban and the Americans increased the already very strong tension, a few days before the deadline of August 31st foreseen for the withdrawal of the American soldiers, synonymous with the end of the evacuations.

The Taliban announced that they had taken control of several parts of the airport: “Today, three important places of the military part of the Kabul airport have been evacuated by the Americans and are under the control of the Islamic Emirate” , tweeted one of their spokespersons, Bilal Karimi. The country’s new rulers “do not take care of any of the boarding gates or any of the operations at the airport. It’s still under the control of the US military, ”John Kirby immediately denied.