Experts question decision not to name ISIS terrorists killed in Afghanistan drone strike

The failure of the Biden administration to name the two Islamic State terrorists killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan on Friday has led some experts to conclude they were not high-value targets.

In a press conference Saturday, Major Gen. William Taylor only referred to the dead targets as a "planner" and "facilitator," and would not say if they played specific roles in the airport suicide attack Thursday that killed 13 American soldiers and 169 Afghans. Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, was behind the attack.

"Normally if they get a high-profile guy they like to name him," retired US Army Lt. Col Brian F. Sullivan told The Post.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Taylor, Joint Staff Operations, speaks about the situation in Afghanistan during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Friday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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"They keep talking BS about ‘eyes over the horizon’ but I think a lot of this is the administration blowing more smoke," Sullivan added. "They’re throwing this up as if the US is reacting with strength and power. So that makes the score something like ISIS 200-US two. Who are they kidding?"

Sullivan, an officer involved in the withdrawal of US forces from Vietnamese coastal cities in the 1970s, pointed out that by rapidly droning the alleged planner of the ISIS attack, "they must have known who he was beforehand.

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"If they knew about this why didn’t they drone the sonofabitch beforehand? They are flat-ass lying to us."

The ex-officer said it was also possible the names were concealed in order to land a bigger target down the line.

In a statement Saturday, President Biden promised more drone strikes targeting terrorists.

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The Pentagon believes that "thousands" of ISIS-K fighters were set loose after the Taliban reconquered Afghanistan and released inmates from military prisons.

"I said we would go after the group responsible for the attack on our troops and innocent civilians in Kabul, and we have," said Biden. "This strike was not the last. We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay."

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August 29, 2021 at 12:17PM
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