A U.S. drone strike detonated a car carrying "many suicide bombers" from Islamic State militants in Afghanistan on Sunday before attacking an ongoing military evacuation at Kabul International Airport, U.S. officials said.
The strike came just two days before the U.S. It has flown hundreds of tens of thousands of Afghans and foreigners and withdrew its last troops, ending the longest war in the United States and the Taliban regaining power.
The U.S. Department of State He issued a statement signed by about 100 countries, along with NATO and the European Union, saying they had received "guarantees" from the Taliban that people with travel documents would still be able to leave the country freely. The Taliban have said they will allow normal travel after the completion of the US withdrawal on Tuesday and now take control of the airport.
About the same time as the drone strike, Afghan police said a rocket had struck the area near the airport, killing a child. Rashid, a Kabul police officer by name, confirmed the rocket attack, and a video obtained by The Associated Press showed smoke rising from a building a mile (half a mile) from the airport.
The Taliban have described the drone strike and rocket attacks as separate incidents, but residents of the Afghan capital have heard only one explosion.
Two U.S. military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military action, called the pilot a success and said the car was carrying several bombs.