He said that another terror attack is “highly probable” as the U.S. continues to evacuate.
According to the Pentagon, the last contingent of U.S. troops at the airport now numbers less than 4,000 had started their final withdrawal before Biden’s Tuesday deadline.
Biden told the extremists that they can expect more after being briefed about the U.S. drone operation in eastern Afghanistan, which the Pentagon claimed killed two members of Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate.
Biden stated that “this strike was not the final.” “We will continue our hunt for any person involved in this heinous attack, and make them pay.” Biden paid tribute to the “bravery & selflessness” of American troops who executed the rush airlift of tens to thousands of people from Kabul airport to meet the needs of their wounded servicemen.
As tensions rose about the possibility of an ISIS-K attack, the evacuation was ordered.
Biden stated that his commanders had informed him that an attack was highly probable within the next 24-36 hour. He also said that he instructed them to take every precaution to protect their troops. They are helping to secure the airport and bringing Americans and other people fleeing Taliban rule onto the airfield.
According to the Pentagon, the remains of 13 American soldiers were still on the way to the United States. The passage of the 13 American troops was a difficult moment in an almost 20-year American war. It cost more than 2,400 U.S. soldiers their lives. Now, they are returning to power in a Taliban movement that was expelled by U.S. forces in October 2001.
The Pentagon released the names and addresses of the victims — 11 Marines, 1 Navy sailor, and 1 Army soldier. Twelve of them were in their 20s. Some were born in 2001 when America’s longest war began. The oldest was 31. The oldest was 31. Biden declared in April that the remaining 2,500-3,000 troops would be gone by September, ending what he called America’s “forever war”.
The Pentagon approved the deployment of thousands more troops to Kabul to assist the State Department’s chaotic efforts to evacuate thousands of Americans as well as tens of thousand of Afghans who had aided the United States in the war. The chaos and confusion that followed the evacuation were caused by the sudden collapse of the Afghan army and the election of the Taliban to power on Aug. 15.
Up to 5,400 Americans have been evacuated so far from the country, with 300 of them in the last 24 hours. The State Department believes that 350 more Americans want to flee the country; approximately 280 other Americans have claimed to be Americans, but have not informed the State Department about their plans to leave.
Fearful of a return of the violence of the Taliban regime of 2001, untold numbers are likely to remain in Afghanistan. Biden and leaders from other Western countries said that they would work with the Taliban to allow Afghans, who have worked with them, to flee after the U.S.-led evacuation.
According to the Pentagon, 6,800 Afghans were evacuated in 24 hours. This brings the total number of nationalities who have been evacuated since Aug. 14, when the rush exit began.
John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesperson, stated that the U.S. military force stationed at Kabul’s airport had started its final withdrawal. It peaked at 5,800. According to a U.S. official, the number was below 4,000 by Saturday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity and did not reveal details. Kirby stated that the Pentagon won’t provide a daily description of the last stages of the military withdrawal. This includes returning troops and equipment.
Two ISIS-K “planners” and facilitators were killed in an airstrike by the Pentagon on Saturday morning.
They have lost some ability to plan and conduct missions. But, make no mistake, nobody is going to write this off and say, “Well, we got them.” Kirby stated that we don’t need to worry anymore about ISIS-K.
Biden faces the challenge of managing a range of extremist threats based there in the long-term. This will be more difficult if the United States has fewer intelligence assets and a smaller military presence in Afghanistan. Critics claim that Biden’s withdrawal form Afghanistan opens the possibility for al-Qaida and ISIS-K to grow and threaten the United States. Al-Qaida’s use Afghanistan as a base and the Taliban’s consent was what prompted the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. This began the longest U.S. war.
Saturday’s drone mission was less than two days following the Kabul attack. Biden had made a public promise that he would make ISIS K “pay” for their suicide bomber attack. Officials denied that the two victims were involved in Thursday’s attack at Kabul airport.
Kirby refused to reveal the names or nationalities of those who were killed. Kirby said that one additional person was injured in the strike. The U.S. quickly retaliated due to its close monitoring of IS, and years of experience in targeting extremists from remote areas of the globe. It also highlights the limitations of U.S. power in eliminating extremist threat. Some believe that they will be able to move more freely in Afghanistan now the Taliban are in power.
Kirby stated that the U.S. has “the ability and means to carry over the-horizon counterterrorism capabilities” and that the U.S. is going to defend itself. This refers to the military’s use in Afghanistan of aircraft based in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere.
