A US airstrike Sunday targeted a vehicle carrying “multiple suicide bombers” from Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate before they could target the ongoing American military evacuation at Kabul’s international airport, officials said.
There were few initial details about the incident, as well as a rocket that struck a neighbourhood just northwest of the airport, killing a child. The two strikes initially appeared to be separate incidents, though information on both remained scarce. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid earlier said in a message to journalists that the US strike targeted a suicide bomber as he drove a vehicle loaded with explosives. Mujahid offered few other details. Two American military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, called the airstrike successful.