US Retaliation: Drone Strike Hits Suicide Bombers Targeting Kabul Airport

Representational image.

Kabul: The US military carried out a second drone strike in two days, striking a vehicle carrying “multiple suicide bombers” of Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate before they could target the ongoing military evacuation at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International airport on Sunday, AP reported.

According to Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for American military’s Central Command, Sunday’s drone strike was carried out as an action of “self-defence.”

“We are confident we successfully hit the target. Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material,” Urban said.

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Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the strike, telling journalists that the US targeted a suicide bomber as he drove a vehicle loaded with explosives.

This was after a rocket struck a neighbourhood close to the airport, killing a child and another person. Some reports suggested that the rocket was aimed to inflict damage at the airport.

The Kabul airport has been the scene of maddening chaos as thousands of people looked to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country two weeks ago. On Thursday, an ISIS affiliate’s suicide attack killed over 180 people.