US Soldiers Are Preparing For More ISIL Attacks In Kabul Outside The Airport.
Key Sentence:
- Kabul residents flee the attack in search of missing loved ones
- US forces oversee new ISIL offensive as evacuation continues
- UK evacuation mission, ending in "hours," says defense chief
US forces in Kabul are preparing for further attacks by Islamic State, including car bombs or rocket fire at the airport, even after evacuation efforts are complete, a senior US commander said.
On Thursday, a double attack near the airport gate killed 13 US troops and a dozen Afghans fleeing the Taliban, marking the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan in a decade. A local branch of ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We believe that they desire to continue this attack, and we hope that this attack continues," Navy General Kenneth Frank Mackenzie, head of US Central Command, told reporters Thursday. He said US forces exchanged information with Taliban fighters who operate checkpoints outside the airport.
"And we will continue to coordinate with them as they move forward," he said. What is IS-K? That would mean the takeover of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State's Afghanistan branch by the Taliban.
You need to know that.
- President Biden on Thursday vowed retaliation against the terrorists who carried out the attacks, saying, "We will go after you and make you pay." He added that more US troops could be deployed to ensure an evacuation if military commanders deem it necessary.
- The Pentagon said that the United States and its allies have carried out one of the largest air evacuations in history, evacuating more than 104,000 people since August 14.
- The total number of victims remained uncertain as of Friday morning. However, a person familiar with the matter said at least 112 people were killed and 111 injured.
A day after two suicide bombs hit Kabul airport and killed dozens who slipped through the gates to flee the country, survivors searched for their missing loved ones, and several body bags were dumped outside the hospital.
Even in a city no stranger to violence, airport strikes fell at a difficult time on Thursday.
When European nations halted evacuations before US troops withdrew four days later - and the fact that the Taliban in Afghanistan was in power was established. "The bombing shook everyone," said a Washington Postman in Kabul, who asked not to be named for security reasons.
The death toll from the blast remained uncertain as of Friday morning. A local branch of the Islamic State has taken responsibility. According to one estimate, the toll is more than 112 killed and 111 injured, although this number could rise.
The attack hit many Afghans, including children, waiting outside the capital's airport - on several days and in stalemate - desperately on the run. Some had passed through Taliban checkpoints, crowds, and Western troops in front of the gates, only to die in the bombardment.