Taliban Blasts US Airstrikes in Kabul: 'Arbitrary Attacks Are Illegal'

Late last week, the Pentagon said that two Daesh* leaders were killed and one more was wounded in Friday's US drone strike in Afghanistan.

Taliban* spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has condemned the US airstrikes in Kabul, emphasising that arbitrary attacks in other countries are illegal. 

"We condemn such attacks because it is illegal to carry out arbitrary attacks in other countries. If there was any potential threat, the US should have reported it to us, rather than conduct an arbitrary attack that has resulted in civilian casualties", Mujahid told the state-run Chinese broadcaster CGTN.

This followed the Pentagon's Major General William Taylor telling reporters on Saturday that he "can now confirm" two Daesh leaders were killed and another one injured in Friday's strikes. 

#Afghanistan- Multiple members of the same family, including children, were killed in a US missile strike in #Kabul.
📸 pic.twitter.com/XcE0PWIeP9

— Mete Sohtaoğlu (@metesohtaoglu) August 30, 2021

Earlier, US officials said that the strikes had targeted "multiple Daesh suicide bombers" who were believed to be on their way to the Kabul Airport as the American evacuation effort continues.

The strikes came in retaliation for the blasts outside the Kabul Airport on 26 August, which claimed the lives of nearly 200 people, mainly Afghans trying to flee Afghanistan, as well as 13 US servicemen. The Daesh-Khorasan terrorist organisation claimed responsibility for the attacks.

President Joe Biden, for his part, pledged more strikes against Daesh-Khorasan fighters in Afghanistan, indicating that the US deems the threat of a new attack on the Kabul Airport "highly likely" over the next 24-36 hours. 

"[Friday's] strike was not the last. We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay. Whenever anyone seeks to harm the United States or attack our troops, we will respond. That will never be in doubt", POTUS stressed.

US and NATO forces are currently wrapping up the evacuation of their armies and citizens as time ticks for the 31 August deadline previously set by President Biden. On 15 August, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after capturing the capital Kabul without a fight following a months-long offensive.

*The Taliban and Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/Islamic State/IS) are terrorist groups banned in Russia and many other countries.