President Biden returns a greeting as he and First Lady Jill Biden return to the U.S. on Sunday, August 29, 2021, at Dover Air Force Base, Del, near Kabul Airport, while their remains are returned to the U.S. while their remains are in Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Hide caption
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Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
President Biden returns a greeting as he and First Lady Jill Biden return to Dover Air Force Base, Del, near Kabul Airport on Sunday, August 29, 2021, while their remains return to the United States
Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
After Thursday’s attack on Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, which killed more than 200 people, including 13 US soldiers, the US launched a second attack against suspected ISIS-K members in Afghanistan.
A military official confirmed the attack to NPR on Sunday, saying it was carried out to remove an “immediate” threat to the airport. President Biden warned on Saturday of an ongoing threat to US operations in Afghanistan as evacuations continue there.
“US forces launched an unmanned self-defense airstrike over the horizon on a vehicle in Kabul today to address an imminent ISIS-K threat [Hamid] Karzai International Airport, “said Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for US Central Command.
“We are confident that we have successfully hit the target. Substantial secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a significant amount of explosive material,” said Urban. “We are investigating the possibilities of civilian casualties, although we have no evidence at this time. We remain vigilant for potential future threats.”
On Friday, the US launched a drone attack in the Afghan province of Nangarhar. Pentagon officials said Saturday that ISIS-K killed “a planner and a facilitator” and injured another person in the attack.
The latest strike came as President Biden and the First Lady traveled to Dover, Del., On Sunday, where a “dignified transfer” of the remains of the 13 soldiers killed in Kabul last week will take place. Biden should also meet with the families of the soldiers who were killed.
