The US central command Centcom announced on Friday evening (local time) that the unmanned air strike in the Afghan province of Nangahar was aimed at “a planner” from Isis-K. “According to the first signs, we killed the target,” said spokesman Bill Urban. At the same time, the US feared another terrorist attack in Kabul.
The US embassy again published a security warning that night and called on all compatriots to immediately leave the area around the entrance gates to the airport.
Centcom spokesman Urban said with a view to the air strike: “We do not know of any civilian casualties.” The Central Command did not provide any further details. It was also not clear whether the person attacked was directly involved in the bloody attack at the Afghan capital’s airport.
The US armed forces usually describe attacks with remote-controlled drones as unmanned air strikes, which can target their targets from a great height without being noticed. In the course of withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, the USA had repeatedly emphasized that, even without soldiers on the ground, it would have the ability to carry out air strikes from a distance.
“We will not forget”
US President Joe Biden had sworn revenge after the bloody attack in Kabul. Dozens of people were killed in the terrorist attack at the airport on Thursday – including 13 US soldiers. Some media report almost 200 deaths. “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and let you pay for it,” Biden said shortly after the attack. On Friday, his spokeswoman Jen Psaki reiterated the president’s determination: “He made it clear that he does not want them to still live on earth.” She responded to the question of whether Biden wanted to kill the perpetrators of the attack or bring them to justice. Psaki said that Biden had been informed of plans for possible targets.
“The blow against Isis-K is the beginning of revenge,” wrote Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger after the attack on Twitter. “Congratulations to our military and a good decision by President Biden. Nothing will make up for our loss of men, but it must not go unanswered.”
Isis-K is a local branch of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS). The Americans speak of Isis instead of IS – hence they refer to the branch as Isis-K.
Burning situation at the airport
The situation at Kabul Airport, where the US Air Force is continuing its evacuation flights, remains extremely dangerous. US citizens who were at Abbey Gate, East Gate, North Gate or New Ministry of Interior Gate “should leave the area immediately,” the US embassy appealed. Hours before the terrorist attack on Thursday, it had issued a similar warning.
“The threat is acute, it is ongoing. Our troops are still in danger,” said Psaki on Friday. Biden was informed at a meeting with his national security team that “another terrorist attack in Kabul is likely”. According to the White House, the coming days will be the most dangerous of the evacuation mission. Biden had nevertheless emphasized on Friday that the USA would continue to fly people out and that it was a “worthwhile mission”.
The evacuation operation of the German armed forces, however, ended on Thursday – after eleven days. The first German soldiers of the mission landed on the Wunstorf air base on Friday evening. The German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and the General Inspector of the Bundeswehr, General Eberhard Zorn, also traveled with them to Lower Saxony. They had picked up the soldiers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Spanish and French armed forces have also ended their evacuation mission.
110,000 people flown out
According to the White House, the US and its allies have flown around 110,000 people from Afghanistan since the evacuation mission began in Kabul in mid-August. Most recently, 4,200 people were evacuated within twelve hours on Friday. As of Friday afternoon (local time), the US government assumed that around 500 Americans willing to leave Afghanistan were still in Afghanistan. You are in direct contact with them and hundreds of other citizens who have not yet decided whether they want to leave the country, said a spokesman for the foreign ministry.
Germany hopes that local workers who have remained in the country and other people seeking protection will also be able to leave Afghanistan with civil aircraft in the future. Apparently around 300 Germans and more than 10,000 Afghans are still waiting to leave for Germany. However, the commander of the German evacuation mission in Afghanistan, Jens Arlt, did not dare to predict on Friday evening when the Kabul airport will be able to handle civil aircraft again. The civil part on the south side of the airport had been destroyed, said the brigadier general after returning to Germany.
US withdrawal by Tuesday
The Taliban have been controlling Kabul since mid-August – and thus also the area around the airport. At the gates and inside the site, however, US soldiers and their allies are in charge. However, these should be deducted by Tuesday next week at the latest. Some international partners had asked the USA to extend the mission in order to have more time for the evacuations. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson regretted the timing of the withdrawal from Afghanistan on Friday. “The timing is definitely not what this country would have chosen,” he said.
