Afghanistan: Pentagon Says Two High-Profile ISIS-K Targets Were Killed In US Drone Strike

Pentagon said on Saturday that two high-profile targets of ISIS-K, a local affiliate of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, were killed in a US drone strike on Friday.

"Two high-profile ISIS targets were killed, one was wounded, and we know of zero civilian casualties," US Army Major General Hank Taylor told reporters in a Pentagon briefing, the Xinhua news agency reported.

US Central Command initially assessed on Friday that the drone strike, which occurred in Nangarhar province of eastern Afghanistan, killed one ISIS-K planner.

The strike came after a suicide bombing outside Kabul airport on Thursday which killed 13 US service members and some 170 Afghans. ISIS-K had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The airport is under the control of the US military, which is facilitating the evacuation of US citizens and others wanting to leave the country. There was also another explosion at a hotel near the airport.

Officials in Washington have warned of heightened terror threats to American troops in the aftermath of what was one of the deadliest attacks in the 20-year US-led invasion in Afghanistan.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told a news conference Friday that "specific credible threats" are believed to exist, "and we want to make sure we're prepared for those" threats.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki echoed the concern over those security threats, saying in a press briefing that American officials believe "another terror attack in Kabul is likely".

The US has been scrambling to evacuate Americans and its Afghan partners from the country since the Taliban entered Kabul on August 15. The White House said on Saturday that around 111,900 people had left Afghanistan since August 14.

With IANS Inputs