US Drone Strike Kills Mastermind Behind Kabul Airport Bombing

The U.S. military announced late Friday into Saturday that it had conducted an operation against ISIS in Afghanistan. According to a statement from the U.S. military, a drone strike targeted a member of ISIS in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. The Pentagon stated that the strike targeted an official responsible for planning within ISIS in Afghanistan. The Pentagon added that "the operation resulted in the death of the target, according to initial indicators," and noted that there were no civilian casualties reported from the strike. This is the first strike carried out by the U.S. military since the attack that occurred Thursday at Kabul Airport, which resulted in at least 85 deaths, including 13 U.S. soldiers. Following the attack claimed by ISIS-Khorasan, President Joe Biden vowed to respond. He stated to those responsible for the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan since 2011, "We will hunt you down and make you pay." The ISIS branch in Afghanistan, known as "Khorasan Province," claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at Kabul Airport on Thursday, which resulted in dozens of casualties, including 13 U.S. soldiers. President Biden had mentioned on Thursday that the United States would track down those responsible for the attack and directed the Defense Department to prepare plans to strike back. The U.S. Central Command noted that the American strike targeting ISIS occurred in Nangarhar province east of Kabul but did not clarify whether the target was linked to the airport attack.