President Biden says another Kabul airport attack likely

Biden says another Kabul airport attack likely
These evacuees made it on the last flight to Italy. Source: Reuters
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Daily US Times: US President Joe Biden has warned of another attack on Kabul airport is highly likely, saying commanders have told him it could come as early as Sunday.

The state department has urged all Americans to leave the area near the airport because of a “specific, credible threat”.

The US is continuing evacuating US citizens and Afghan allies but the final UK troops, officials and diplomats have now left Kabul.

On Thursday, a suicide bombing near the airport resulted in some 170 deaths, including 13 US soldiers.

Islamic State in Khorasan Province (IS-K) – a local branch of the Islamic State group – claimed the horrific attack.

In retaliation, the United States military carried out a drone strike on eastern Afghanistan late on Friday, saying it had killed two “high-profile” IS-K members.

The two are described as a facilitator and a planner. It is not clear whether they were directly involved in planning the suicide attack of Kabul airport.

In a statement released on Saturday, Biden said: “This strike was not the last. We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay,” Mr Biden said

IS-K is the most violent and extreme of all the militia groups operating in Afghanistan and has major differences with the Taliban.

Taliban now control most of the country.

It accuses Taliban of abandoning the battlefield in favour of a negotiated peace settlement with the Americans.

The Taliban condemned the US drone attack, saying the Americans should have consulted them first, a spokesman told Reuters.

US troops have begun their withdrawal from the Kabul airport – their numbers are now down to 4,000, from a peak of 5,800 in the past week.