The United States attacked an Islamic State "planner" in Afghanistan in retaliation for a deadly bombing outside Kabul airport and said there was a high risk of further blasts as it winds up its mission to evacuate civilians and withdraw troops.
US and allied forces have been racing to complete evacuations of their citizens and vulnerable Afghans and withdraw by the Tuesday deadline set by President Joe Biden, after two decades of American military presence in Afghanistan.
Thursday's suicide blast, claimed by the Afghan affiliate of Islamic State, showed the peril of the mission, causing a bloodbath outside the gates of the airport where thousands of Afghans have gathered to try to get a flight out since the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15th.
The attack killed scores of Afghans and 13 US service members, the most lethal incident for US troops in Afghanistan in a decade.
Target 'killed'
US President Biden promised on Thursday that Washington would go after the perpetrators, and US Central Command said the drone strike took place overnight in Nangarhar province, east of Kabul and bordering Pakistan.
"Initial indications are that we killed the target," a US military statement said.
Spokesmen for the Taliban, which took over Afghanistan as US forces withdrew, did not comment on the drone strike.
The Taliban, hardline Islamist militants, are enemies of Islamic State and have said they have arrested some suspects involved in Thursday's airport blast.
The White House said the next few days were likely to be the most dangerous of the evacuation operation. The US and allies have taken about 111,900 people out of Afghanistan in the past two weeks, the Pentagon has said.
US officials said another attack against the Kabul airport was a near certainty, and there were fears that it could be more destructive than Thursday’s attack.
Instructed to leave
The US Embassy in Kabul warned Americans to avoid the airport and said those at its gates should leave immediately.
US media, including the New York Times, cited health officials saying Thursday's blast had killed up to 170 people, not including the US troops.
Most of the more than 20 allied countries involved in airlifting their citizens and Afghans out of Kabul said they had completed evacuations by Friday.
Britain was ending its operation on Saturday, its armed forces chief Nick Carter said, adding that the focus would then turn to withdrawing British troops. A military transport plane carrying British troops arrived back in England on Saturday morning.
Mr Carter said hundreds of people who had worked with Britain would not make it through.
Residents report explosions
A US official said a reaper drone flown from the Middle East struck an Islamic State militant who was planning attacks and was in a car with an associate. Both are believed to have been killed, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) is the Islamic State affiliate that claimed responsibility for Thursday's bombing.
Residents of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar, said they had heard several explosions from an air strike around midnight, though it was not clear they were caused by a US drone.
In Jalalabad, community elder Malik Adib said three people were killed and four were wounded in the air strike, adding that he had been summoned by the Taliban investigating the incident.
"Women and children are among the victims,” said Mr Adib, though he did not have information about their identity.
The US military statement said: "We know of no civilian casualties."
A senior Taliban commander said some ISIS-K members had been arrested in connection with the Kabul attack. "They are being interrogated by our intelligence team," the commander said.
