ARLINGTON, US: John Kirby (right) and Army Major General William Taylor participate in a news briefing at the Pentagon in this August 23 file photo.-AFP

WASHINGTON: A US air strike in Afghanistan killed two high-profile ISIS targets and left another wounded, the Pentagon said yesterday. No civilians were hurt in the attack early yesterday, which followed the suicide bombing Thursday that killed scores of people including 13 US troops at Kabul airport, Major General Hank Taylor told a news conference. The Pentagon declined to say if the people targeted in the US strike were directly involved in the suicide bombing. "They were ISIS-K planners and facilitators. That's enough reason there alone," said spokesman John Kirby.

"The fact that two of these individuals are no longer walking on the face of the Earth, that's a good thing," Kirby added. The suicide bombing, which targeted throngs of Afghans gathered outside the airport in hopes of fleeing Taleban-ruled Afghanistan, opened a deadly new chapter in the drama unfolding as the frantic US evacuation drive approaches its Tuesday deadline for completion. US officials have said more attacks on the evacuation effort are likely.

US forces overseeing the evacuation have been forced into closer security cooperation with the Taleban to prevent any repeat of the suicide bombing that killed scores of civilians Thursday. But crowds pleading for entry outside the perimeter gates have thinned to hundreds, according to two people who gained access yesterday. The carnage of Thursday's suicide attack injected further stress and tension into a situation already fraught with panic and despair for those wanting to leave and high risk for the US forces tasked with securing the operation.

Yesterday, two senior health officials from the former Afghan administration told AFP the death toll from the blast had topped 100, including the 13 Americans. Some media have put the toll as high as 170. The bombing followed a chorus of warnings about an imminent threat and, as people gathered outside the airport yesterday, the United States issued a fresh alert for its citizens to leave areas around the main gates "immediately". In recent years, the Islamic State's Afghanistan-Pakistan chapter has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in those countries-massacring civilians at mosques, shrines, public squares and even hospitals.

At the White House, President Joe Biden's press secretary Jen Psaki said US national security experts consider another attack is "likely" and the next few days will be "the most dangerous period to date". Taleban spokesman Bilal Karimi tweeted that the group's fighters had already moved into parts of the military side of Kabul airport, but the Pentagon stressed that US forces retained control over the gates and airlift operations.

Racing to meet the Tuesday withdrawal deadline has required close cooperation with the Taleban on evacuee movements and the IS threat. The head of US forces at Hamid Karzai International, Rear Admiral Peter Vasely, is in constant contact with the Taleban official overseeing security around the airport. And with the Taleban poised to take over when the last US plane leaves, discussions have begun on resuming normal flight operations. - AFP