US Drone strike hits car bomb headed for Kabul airport amid terror alert

www.mangaloretoday.com

Washington, August 29, 2021: The United States said it destroyed an explosive-laden vehicle with an air strike in Kabul Sunday, hours after President Joe Biden warned of another terror attack in the capital as a massive airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans entered its last days.

A Taliban spokesman confirmed the incident, saying a car bomb destined for the airport had been destroyed - and that a possible second strike had hit a nearby house.

The US said it had only struck the vehicle, but added that secondary blasts indicated "a substantial amount of explosive material".

Local media reported there may have been civilian casualties, which the US said it was assessing.

The strike comes after a suicide bomber from the Islamic State group on Thursday targeted US troops stopping huge crowds of people from entering Kabul’s airport, from where about 114,000 people have been evacuated since August 15 when the Taliban swept back into power.

More than 100 people died in the attack, including 13 US service personnel, slowing down the airlift ahead of Biden’s deadline for evacuations to end by Tuesday.