US Launches Deadly Drone Strike As ISIS-K Suicide Bombers Target Kabul Airport; Children Among Killed

The United States has launched a drone strike against a vehicle of suicide bombers associated with the Afghan ISIL on Sunday before they could attack the ongoing military evacuation at Kabul’s international airport, claiming the lives of two of the enemies and at least three children.

According to the U.S. Central Command, America has been briefed on the civilian casualties from the attack and is now assessing the impacts of the strike, the Associated Press reported.

The U.S. military drone fired a Hellfire missile at a vehicle in a compound after two Islamic State members were spotted loading explosives into the trunks of two parked cars in a residential building near the airport, Navy Capt. William Urban said.

An initial missile explosion was followed by a much larger fireball after the strike caused a substantial amount of explosives inside the vehicle to detonate, leaving the targeted individuals and several civilians dead.

It comes days after the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for the Islamic State suicide bombing on Thursday outside the airport, which killed at least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members.

Reuters noted that the attack was carried out by a single suicide bomber at a gate of the airport, the Pentagon confirmed, as officials junked reports of a second explosion at a nearby hotel.

The attack would later force the U.S. to retaliate and carry out a drone strike in the country. President Joe Biden has also left a chilling warning that more airstrikes are “highly likely in the next 24-36 hours,” with the State Department deeming the threat was “specific” and “credible.”

The Taliban have previously fought against the IS affiliate over disagreements on how to rule Afghanistan, vowing to prevent the South Asian country from becoming a base for terror attacks.

The drone strike comes just two days before the window for the U.S. to conclude its massive evaluation efforts closes. America is eyeing to rescue more than 114,000 Afghans and foreigners from the country in a two-week blitz and then withdraw the last of its troops safely, leaving the wretched country in Taliban rule.

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the U.S. can still manage to evacuate some 300 Americans in Afghanistan who wish to flee.

He noted that the U.S. does intend to have an embassy presence after the Aug. 31 withdrawal but that America will ensure safe passage for any American citizen, legal permanent resident, and the Afghans who helped the U.S. troops, after Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Aljazeera reported that the first cohort of 111 Afghan refugees, mainly women, and children, touched down in Kosovo on Sunday. They will be temporarily sheltered in the landlocked country until they can be permanently relocated to the U.S.