And go where?The U.S. launched a drone strike on Sunday targeting a vehicle that presented an "imminent ISIS-K threat" to Kabul’s international airport, U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Bill Urban said in a statement.
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"Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material. We are assessing the possibilities of civilian casualties, though we have no indications at this time."
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President Biden said on Saturday that U.S. commanders in Afghanistan told him earlier in the day that the threat of another terrorist attack near Kabul's airport was "highly likely in the next 24-36 hours."
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The U.S. Embassy in Kabul released an alert late Saturday that Americans should "immediately" leave the airport area due to "a specific, credible threat.
Axios
“U.S. military forces conducted a self-defense unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike today on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating an imminent ISIS-K threat to Hamad Karzai International airport,” Navy Capt. Bill Urban, the Centcom spokesman, said in a statement Sunday morning.
“We are confident we successfully hit the target. Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material,” he said. “We are assessing the possibilities of civilian casualties, though we have no indications at this time. We remain vigilant for potential future threats.”
Earlier Sunday, the Taliban said that a U.S. airstrike targeted a suicide bomber in a vehicle Sunday who wanted to attack the Kabul international airport amid the American military’s evacuation there.
There were few initial details about the incident, as well as a rocket that struck a neighborhood just northwest of the airport, killing a child.
Air Force Times
The Sunday drone strike comes after the U.S. said it killed two ISIS-K targets on Friday night in response to the Kabul airport bombing, which killed as many as 170 people, in addition to 13 U.S. service members.
President Joe Biden has given the Pentagon the “green light” to strike any targets affiliated with the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan, ISIS-K, the group responsible for the attack, without seeking White House approval, according to three U.S. officials with knowledge of the operation.
Senior Pentagon leaders already had this authority, but Biden reaffirmed it in instructions to the military on Friday, one of the officials said.
The president’s “guidance is to just do it,” the person said. “If we find more, we will strike them.”
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As of Saturday, more than 117,000 people have been evacuated, with a majority being Afghans, according to Taylor. Approximately 5,400 evacuees are American citizens.
"Despite the treacherous situation in Kabul, we are continuing to evacuate civilians, Biden said Saturday. "Yesterday, we brought out another 6,800 people, including hundreds of Americans. And today, we discussed the ongoing preparations to help people continue to leave Afghanistan after our military departs."
The Pentagon on Saturday released the names of the 13 U.S. servicemembers killed in the airport suicide bombing, whose remains were being flown to the United States.
The 11 Marines are Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah; Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts; Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California; Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California; Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska; Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana; Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas; Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri; Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming; Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California. Also killed were Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio, and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee.
Politico
Probably. That sounds better than Trump bluster. But let's face it, we drop bombs on more people than any other country in the world. So there's thatThe attack happened on the same Kabul street where the extended family lived, adding to the bloodshed and chaos of the last days of the US military presence. Among the dead were three children aged two, two children aged three and two older children.
Reports from Kabul suggested some of the children had run out to greet one of the adults killed, an NGO worker, as he returned home.
A relative of the victims, Ramin Yousufi, told the BBC that the youngest victim was two-year-old Sumaya, and the oldest child was Farzad, 12.
“It’s wrong, it’s a brutal attack, and it’s happened based on wrong information,” he told the broadcaster. “Why have they killed our family? Our children? They are so burnt out we cannot identify their bodies, their faces.”
Another relative said the family had applied for evacuation to the US and were waiting to be called to Kabul airport.
US military officials continued to insist that the strike hit an IS car bomb, pointing to “secondary explosions” at the scene. That conflicted with reports from Kabul that the targeted vehicle belonged to a civilian and that children were in it when it was struck by a missile from a US drone.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, announced an investigation, adding: “We take steps to avoid civilian casualties in every scenario, probably more than almost any country in the world.”
Guardian
UPDATE 9/12: The target was a man with his family delivering water.
UPDATE 9/17:
Stand by intel leading to a strike on 10 civilians? The target was a man delivering water to his home. His kids were collateral damage when they came out to help him.
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