Strike II on ISIS Target in Afghanistan, A deterrent or a risky move

From a Veteran, SOF friend. “Biden couldn’t wait?  I suspect this limited strike pretty much guarantees reprisals against the airlift before the end of the Afghan extraction.  If we had this target teed-up within 72 hours of the Kabul bombing, one can pretty much be sure we had the targets identified before the bombing.  By retaliating before the evacuation of Americans is complete rather than waiting, Biden has exponentially increased the danger to Americans leaving Kabul at the most critical part of the airlift.”

29 August 

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.

We are confident we successfully hit the target. 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. We remain vigilant for potential future threats.

We are aware of reports of civilian casualties following our strike on a vehicle in Kabul today.

We are still assessing the results of this strike, which we know disrupted an imminent ISIS-K threat to the airport. We know that there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties. It is unclear what may have happened, and we are investigating further.

U.S. Central Command statement on counterterrorism strike on ISIS-K planner

By U.S. Central Command  27 Aug

U.S. military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner. The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target. Capt. Bill Urban, USN, U.S. Central Command Spokesman

The unmanned drone strike in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan — to the east of Kabul — which killed two ISIS-K individuals who were known to be responsible for planning and facilitation activities within the organization, the Pentagon’s joint staff deputy director for regional operations said.

During a briefing today at the Pentagon, Army Maj. Gen. William D. “Hank” Taylor said that an additional ISIS-K member was also wounded in the strike, and that there were “zero civilian casualties.”

– Capt. Bill Urban, USN, U.S. Central Command Spokesman

August 26 

Today, I had an opportunity to evaluate the situation at Hamid Karzai International Airport and engage with U.S. military leaders on the ground providing security to the airport.

I saw firsthand our defensive lay down and the work our forces are doing to efficiently operate the airfield while ensuring the safe movement of civilians and diplomats who are leaving Kabul.

U.S. military air traffic controllers and ground handlers are rapidly scaling up operations to ensure the smooth flow of military reinforcements to the airport and the evacuation of U.S. and partner civilians in coordination with our State Department colleagues.

Currently, the airfield is secure and now open to civilian air traffic operating under visual flight rules.

In meetings with Taliban senior leaders in Doha on Sunday, I cautioned them against interference in our evacuation, and made it clear to them that any attack would be met with overwhelming force in the defense of our forces.