American forces launched a drone strike in Kabul on Sunday that killed a suicide car bomber suspected of preparing to attack the airport, US officials said.

The strike is the second carried out by US forces in Afghanistan since an Islamic State suicide bomber struck the airport on Thursday, killing scores of Afghan civilians trying to flee the country and 13 American troops.

On Saturday, US President Joe Biden said the situation on the ground remained extremely dangerous, and that his military chiefs had told him another militant attack was highly likely within the next 24-36 hours.

US officials had said they were particularly concerned about the local affiliate of the Islamic State (IS-K) attacking the airport as American troops departed, in particular the threat from rockets and vehicle-borne explosives.

One US official said Sunday’s strike was carried out by an unmanned aircraft piloted from outside Afghanistan, and that secondary explosions following the strike showed the target had been carrying a “substantial amount of explosive material”.

Reuters