A U.S. over-the-horizon missile strike Sunday destroyed a vehicle carrying Islamic State – Khorasan (ISIS-K) terrorists heading for Kabul airport.
CENTCOM spox Capt. Bill Urban made the confirmation announcement:.
“U.S. military forces conducted a self-defense unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike today on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating an imminent ISIS-K threat to Hamad Karzai International airport. We are confident we successfully hit the target, ” he said.
AP reports two American military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, called the mission successful and said the vehicle carried multiple bombers.
U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the American military’s Central Command, called the drone strike an action taken in “self-defense.” He told AP authorities continued “assessing the possibilities of civilian casualties, though we have no indications at this time.”
“We are confident we successfully hit the target,” Urban said. “Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material.”
Taliban fighters patrol a street in Kabul on August 29, 2021, as suicide bomb threats hung over the final phase of the U.S. military’s airlift operation from Kabul, with President Joe Biden warning another attack was highly likely before the evacuations end. (AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty)
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid earlier said in a message to journalists that the U.S. strike targeted a suicide bomber as he drove a vehicle loaded with explosives. Mujahid offered few other details.
As Breitbart News reported, several news sources early Sunday reported a rocket attack and subsequent explosion hitting a building near Kabul’s main international airport.
The strike came just hours after U.S. officials warned of the possibility of an attack.
AP contributed to this story