US airstrike targets ISIS-K

Kabul: Hitting back at the Islamic State operatives in Afghanistan, the US military conducted airstrikes in Nangarhar province, east of Kabul and bordering Pakistan, on Saturday morning.

The US military response comes less than 48 hours after a devastating suicide bombing claimed by ISIS-K had killed nearly 190 Afghans and 13 American service members at the Kabul airport.

The US military claimed that an ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) member, believed to be a planner of future attacks in the country, was killed in the airstrikes.

However, the US Central Command did not clarify if the ISIS-K member killed in the airstrike was involved in Thursday's Kabul airport attack.

"Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties," according to a US military statement. Afghanistan news agency Asvaka News shared images of the purported site of US drone attack at Qala-e-Naghrak 7th district in eastern Nangarhar province, showing damaged walls of a house and charred vehicles.

According to reports, a reaper drone, which took off from the Middle East, struck the militant who was in a car with an Islamic State associate.

Both are believed to have been killed. On Saturday, the US Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert for its citizens at the Kabul airport, asking them to immediately leave the Abbey gate, East gate, North gate or the New Ministry of Interior gate.

The White House said the next few days are likely to be the most dangerous of the ongoing US evacuation operation. In the past two weeks, the US has taken about 111,000 people out of Afghanistan, the Pentagon said.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the United States believes there are still "specific, credible" threats against the airport after the bombing at one of its gates.

"We certainly are prepared and would expect future attempts. We're monitoring these threats, very, very specifically, virtually in real time," he added.

With the August 31 deadline approaching, there are more than 5,000 people remain inside Kabul airport awaiting evacuation, and thousands more continue to throng the perimeter gates pleading for entry.