U.S. Air Force Strikes Islamic State in Afghanistan following Airport Attack

The United States conducted an airstrike against an Islamic State attack planner in Afghanistan in retaliation to the IS-claimed Kabul airport attacks that left around hundred people, including a dozen U.S. military personnel, dead.

Today's over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation against the Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) planner occurred in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan.

“Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties,” Capt. Bill Urban, USN, U.S. Central Command Spokeman, said in a statement on August 27 after the drone strike.

"We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," U.S. President Joe Biden earlier said in emotional remarks at the White House following two blasts and gunfire at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday.

Thursday’s attack could easily be counted as the deadliest terror attack on the U.S. forces since nearly a decade. The last time the American military lost so many soldiers was 10 years ago when the Taliban had shot down a CH-47D Chinook transport helicopter near Kabul, killing at least 30 personnel onboard.

ISIS-K, an offshoot of the Islamic State (IS) whose members previously battled U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the assault. The group is estimated to have 1,500-2,000 fighters at its command. ISIS-K is also a sworn enemy of the group that now rules Afghanistan, the Taliban. 28 Taliban fighters also lost their lives in the alleged IS attack.