The US military and the Taliban provided details of what was described as the first US military response to the attack that targeted Kabul airport, killing and wounding dozens, while Washington and its allies are racing against time to complete the evacuation and withdrawal process before the deadline scheduled for next Tuesday.
The US military said it had targeted an ISIS leader in Afghanistan at dawn today, Saturday.
A US military statement confirmed that a US drone strike targeted the planning official in the "Islamic State" organization in eastern Afghanistan, without specifying his name.
The statement added that the initial indications of the operation indicated that it resulted in killing the target.
The Wall Street Journal, citing a US official, revealed that the air strike was carried out at around 11:30 pm GMT, and that US forces waited until the target was isolated from civilians before launching the air strike.
proactive action
The newspaper quoted the official as saying that targeting ISIS with an air strike was a preemptive act, after intelligence information showed that the targeted man was involved in planning future attacks in Kabul.
And the network quoted "CNN" (CNN) on the intelligence chief of the Department of Homeland Security, John Cohen reminding him that the process of intensive screening and scrutiny before those who are evacuated to the United States.
CNN indicated that the US Department of Homeland Security is tracking 3 main threats, including the possibility that individuals with ties to the Islamic State or al-Qaeda could use the resettlement process as a means of entering the United States.
According to the network, based on a phone call to security officials it has seen, federal officials are on high alert in anticipation of threats to the United States in the wake of the mass evacuation from Afghanistan.
In turn, "Fox News" channel quoted an official at the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) that the drone attack targeted a vehicle carrying the leader of the Islamic State in Khorasan.
The official indicated that there was another partner in the car with the target, who is believed to have been involved in planning the Kabul attack.
Reuters reported that US President Joe Biden agreed to carry out the raid that targeted one of the leaders of the ISIS leader in Afghanistan.
Afghan novel
In Afghanistan, Al-Jazeera correspondent Younis Ait Yassin said that a Taliban source confirmed that an air strike by a drone had targeted a house in the city of Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province.
He said that local media reported that local sources talked about a raid on a house and not a mobile vehicle, but indicated that there was a car parked next to this house, and that the bombing led to the death of 3 people.
It quoted one of the house's neighbors as saying that those inside the house did not know of any political or religious activity.
Accelerated pace of evacuation
A Western official denied to Reuters any connection between the US strike against ISIS in eastern Afghanistan and the current evacuation plan at Kabul Airport.
The Western official said that the evacuation of civilians at Kabul airport is continuing at a very fast pace.
He added that fast passage is provided for every foreigner to leave Afghanistan within the next 48 hours.
Maxar has published aerial photos of Kabul International Airport, showing the continuation of international evacuations from the airport via military aircraft of the US Air Force and coalition countries.
US President Joe Biden has said that evacuations from Kabul airport will continue, despite Thursday's suicide attack.
He added, in statements to him during his meeting today in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, that the American forces will continue this operation despite its danger.
Washington advises its citizens to avoid the airport
For its part, the US Embassy in Kabul issued a second warning at dawn today, Saturday, calling on its citizens to leave the gates of Kabul Airport immediately.
The embassy said in a statement that those at the Abi Gate, the East Gate, the North Gate or at the new Ministry of Interior gates should leave immediately.
On Friday, the White House reported that Joe Biden's national security team told the president that another terrorist attack was likely in Kabul, and also warned that the next few days of the evacuation mission from Afghanistan would be the most dangerous.
According to a White House statement, Biden gave US commanders and military full authority to launch an operation against ISIS targets in Khorasan.
ISIS arose in Afghanistan after it announced its presence in Iraq and Syria in 2014, where former members of the Pakistani Taliban declared allegiance to the leader of the organization, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and later joined by Afghans and defectors from the Taliban movement.
In 2015, the Islamic State officially recognized the establishment of a province in Khorasan, the name given to the lands that include parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia.
The death toll from the bombing that targeted one of the gates of Kabul Airport - Thursday, which was claimed by the organization - has risen to 175, in addition to wounding more than 200 others.
A Taliban official confirmed that at least 28 Taliban militants were killed in the blast.
In turn, the Pentagon announced the killing of 13 marines and the wounding of 18 others, and the British Foreign Office announced in a statement that 3 of its nationals were killed in Afghanistan - including a child - in the attack.