because the raids were so successful, a lot of isis-k's leadership is underground. as you saw from central command, they don't want civilian casualties. so in isis leaders are tougher to get to them in urban areas. this isis planner out for a drive, clearly his last one. >> that's how they change their tactics to shield themselves that way. the mother of all bombs that was dropped, i had not recalled that was isis-k. the beginning of our targeting back then. >> thanks. >> you're on it. thanks. we'll check back in with you. thank you. joining me now 2 afghanistan war vets, jim banks and pennsylvania senate candidate sean parnell. sean is the author of "outlaw platoon." congressman banks, your reaction to the killing of this isis planner. >> this is a good start. it would be naive to believe this is going to stop more attacks from isis. we've been briefed now for a few years about the growing threat of isis-k in afghanistan. we knew they were there. we knew they were building up in kabul after the trump administration pushed the call fair out of syria and iraq. we knew

it doesn't say the isis k reader but isis k planner. pete: we are starting to hunt them down and make them pay as the president promised yesterday. i saw the phrase over the horizon. do we know this drone strike came from the kabul airport? it emanated from somewhere else? information on that? >> reporter: no drones at the kabul airport, these drones fry from the middle east, the united arab emirates, you have to fly to pakistan and we only have four or five hours overhead where this drone strike took place launched from the middle east through afghanistan. the only air assets at the kabul airport are apache gunship switch your family with. pete: the over the horizon necessary capacity, any news on intelligence, where we've gotten this information? >> not clear at this time. the us military keeps a range of assets, the aircraft that can snoop, mobile phones and all these things. a devastating attack we saw in kabul, the us. are scrambling its assets to find out who is responsible and who might be responsible for other attacks. your aler

strike against isis-k and isis-k planner. central command spokesman captain bill urban says u.s. military forces conducted an over the horizon counterterrorism operation today against an isis-k planner. the unmanned air strike occurred in afghanistan initial indications are that we killed the target. we know of no civilian casualties and again, that is a quote. that as we have more breaking news tonight on a new threat in afghanistan. the u.s. embassy in kabul just now again warning u.s. sitcitiz at a number of gates at that airport to leave immediately siting security threats. the alert advising u.s. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates. that is hours after the president joe biden was warned by his national security team another attack in kabul is likely, not just possible, but likely. white house official telling cnn quote the next few days of this mission will be the most dangerous period to date. the president saying this. >> look, the mission there in the form is dangerous and it is now come with significant loss of american personnel and it's a

carrying out an air strike against an isis-k planner. approved the strike on the i is isis isis-k planner. coming moments after the u.s. embassy in kabul warned american citizens to leave the airport gate immediately. secretary cohen, thank you, and we are -- are happy to have you here, as well to talk about this breaking news. this air strike. that's what i want to start with. and what centcom is saying. that it believes that the target is dead, and they don't know if any civilian casualties. what do you make of this response to yesterday's attack? >> well, i think it's a case of president biden saying, basically, that the long arm of justice is going to reach out and touch you wherever you are. it's not quite justice, frankly. we lost 13 and many wounded. and 170 or more afghans killed, as well. so, taking out one or two people is certainly important but it's certainly not justice, either. i want to say just a word. you had general mark hertling on just a moment ago. and he said how personal it was to him. it's personal to me and my wif

what we know about isis-k. that's next on "the five." >> when the president says, we will hunt you down and make you pay. what does that look like. is he satisfied with they're captured and brought to trial. >> i think he made it clear yesterday, he doesn't want them living on the earth anymore. >> -- nearly 200 afghans. president biden, being warned today just to expect another terrorist attack by the group. for more let's go to jennifer griffin at the pentagon. jennifer, how are you. >> good evening, richard. tonight thousands are on edge as they evacuate thousands of afghans on the tarmac. approximately five thousand were there today. new video of the attack shows the devastation outside of abbey gape. one suicide bomber truck and then opened fire. the pentagon has blamed isis-k. but won't blame the taliban who still need to provide airport security. >> how many isis-k prisoners were left and believed to have been released from the prison? why were they not removed when the u.s. pulled out? >> i don't know t

now i think you're going to see isis k. now take a much more prominent role and this, this will test, this will test for the telephone will, is in trying to seek international recognition, will try to actually stop isis and in some way or go against them. but frankly, isis is calling the shots. they control their control in events right now. and when you have the deputy of tele, bon, b and connie and they're much more closely aligned with isis. k. i'm dubious of all of this arrangement in the u. s. is putting their faith and trust right now in tele, bought in and protecting the airport it's, it's bizarre. what we're seeing here. and i might add that it had to have been somebody who looked at the, the previous bomber come through who, who's probably associated with the, how common network. so i'm very dubious, and i think isis k has, has infiltrated and in to tell a bond quite, quite extensively. and it's going to be i think the battle is going to be on. we're going to see this thing disintegrate, perhaps into a civil war sho

pounded isis-k, you know, relentlessly for a while there, and they sort of went quiet. how much of an impact did the taliban's release of isis prisoners during their sweep across the country have on isis-k's operating strength? >> well, certainly isis-k's ability to operate has been enhanced and increased after the taliban freed dozens of their prisoners, if not hundreds from various jails across afghanistan as the taliban was sweeping across afghanistan. there are isis-k fighters that have now emerged from the woodwork that were based in pakistan, and therein lies another problem, is the fact that it wasn't just the taliban that were lying louw in pakista by icsis-k too. they've had this aspect of strategic depth for afghanistan, and again the concern is that what role will pakistan play in afghanistan's future, especially vis-a-vis all these groups when you've got imran khan's government wanting to get international recognition for the taliban, but how can one do that when they retain these odd ties with all these different terrorist group who's are murdering civilians

how strong is isis-k in afghanistan? _ airport. how strong is isis-k in afghanistan?n afghanistan? look, as - airport. how strong is isis-k in afghanistan? look, as i i in afghanistan? look, asi noted, isis-k _ in afghanistan? look, asi noted, isis-k has - in afghanistan? look, asi noted, isis-k has been i in afghanistan? look, as i - noted, isis-k has been bearing noted, isis—k has been bearing the brunt of the us and afghan in the last few years but over the last 12 months the group has (audio breaks up). it has come up with a new strategy, it has positioned itself as a taliban rejected this movement. it is sought to rally these disillusioned constituencies, constituencies that don't like the taliban and moreover, they have engaged in successful jailbreak. they were able to free their prisoners from one jail in eastern afghanistan last august and then ten days, when the taliban took control of the country, parts of kabul, there was another jailbreak of the country, parts of kabul, there was anotherjailbreak in which thousands of isis prisoners fled. at this point my

isis-k wants to move against american military targets in reaction to what happened a couple of yearsgo, when they were part of a mission to move isis and to minimize their presence in the middle east, and at the same time, they can demonstrate their appeal to people in afghanistan. the taliban saying they are not capable of really controlling the situation, and they are really not, if you will, a proper islamic group, meaning they are not willing to be affiliated with the idea of isis and their coalition. the taliban want to simply focus on their country and not be involved in fighting outside. mark: in terms of what this means, the taliban taking power quickly on a timescale few have seen happening quickly, maybe united on that one came, but there are all these fears. having said that this was a disparate group, and now there is another player in town, more extreme, more dangerous, leading to a more chaotic ocome. >> yeah, and i don't think that another player -- i think that other player will have its own success in its eyes, but i don't the good place to anything within afghan soc

— by isis-k? that is a very difficult _ by isis-k? that is a very difficult question - by isis-k?o - by isis-k? that is a very i difficult question to answer and one which makes me feel quite frankly a little bit hopeless. as i said before, our military is very much inside the airport rather than outside. however, the director of the cia met with members of the taliban leadership a few days ago. my best guess is that we are trying to remedy the situation through intelligence channels. utilising the taliban to ensure safe passage of people to the airport. that is the biggest issue right now is not being able to get from one location to the airport. that is my best guess in terms of how this will be resolved. president biden has rejected calls from us allies to delay the withdrawal date for remaining american soldiers beyond the end of the month. with time running out for evacuation flights, there's a sense of panic setting in among those trying to leave the country. secunder kermani sent this report from kabul. shame on them! they've been through so much already. now wading through

the pentagon has blamed isis-k. security. >> how many isis-k prisoners were left and believed to have been released from the prison? why were they not removed when the u.s. pulled out? >> i don't know the exact number. clearly it's in the thousands. >> u.s. officials say reports that they shared lists of americans and allies with the taliban are incorrect. adding in some cases to get the afghans and americans through a check point they provided the information. for the most part the taliban have let those people pass. 12,500 people were evacuated yesterday on 35 military flights even after the suicide bombing attack that killed 13 americans and wounded other american troops. those troops were med i vacked to german.y. >> thank you, jennifer. let's go around the table. what does the leverage look like from the pentagon's point of view? >> i think the pept a gone and state department are working hand and hand. the hrefrpbl that they believe they had, remember bill burns of the cia met with the taliban leader on monday

— by isis-k? that is a very difficult _ by isis-k? that is a very difficult question - by isis-k?hat is a very i difficult question to answer and one that makes me feel quite frankly quite a little bit hopeless. as i said before, our military is inside the airport rather than outside. however, we have the meeting between the cia and members of the taliban leadership a few days ago and my best guess is we are trying to remedy the situation to intelligence channels. utilising the taliban to ensure safe passage. of people to the airport. that is the biggest issue right now. it is not being able to safely get from one location to the airport. that is my best guess in terms of how this will be resolved. in terms of how this will be resolved-— in terms of how this will be resolved. ., ~' , ., , . resolved. thank you very much for making _ resolved. thank you very much for making time _ resolved. thank you very much for making time for— resolved. thank you very much for making time for us. - resolved. thank you very much for making time for us. the - for making time for us. the element t

unlike a bit more in the continuing strike from isis—k. one way or the other. the only thing i would tell you is— other. the only thing i would tell you is that — other. the only thing i would tell you is that the president has made it very— you is that the president has made it very clear — you is that the president has made it very clear that we will maintain robust _ it very clear that we will maintain robust over— it very clear that we will maintain robust over the horizon counterterrorism capability, the kind of— counterterrorism capability, the kind of capabilities you have seen is using _ kind of capabilities you have seen is using just the last 2436 hrs and will have — is using just the last 2436 hrs and will have the ability to act in ways in keeping — will have the ability to act in ways in keeping with our national security— in keeping with our national security interest and help prevent attacks _ security interest and help prevent attacks on — security interest and help prevent attacks on the homeland. we still have that — attac

as we now know, isis-k claimed responsibility. 're an offshoot of isis that formed in pakistan six years ago, bitter enemy of the taliban. of course, the taliban is also an enemy of the u.s. and they just took control of afghanistan, but they have been working with us to let americans and afghan allies evacuate. at this point, the only thing we control is the top half of the airport on the screen. they control the civilian side and basically everything that's around it. but let's not forget, they're still terrorists and their new head of security is actually wanted by the u.s. as a terrorist. ken delanian has been digging into this story, and also john brennan, and clint watts who worked as consultant to the fbi counterterrorism vision. good to see you all. ken, i want to start there. the taliban security chief is a u.s. designated terrorist, and yet we are relying on them for security. >> it is an awful situation, chris. the united states doesn't have a lot of good options now. it is not that we are relying on the taliban, more th

isis-k could be a violent nuisance, conducting ied at attacks, but they say isis-k is not going awayeeper right now. douglas london joining us, former cia counterterrorism chief for south asia and also author of the upcoming book "the recruiter, spying in the lost art of american intelligence." how serious a threat is this isis-k to u.s. interests and to peace over there? what are they up to? >> thanks for having me on the program. i think isis-k. kp we call it, the khorasan province. the threat is prominent now because there's no pressure against them. they're a small group, pretty much decentralized and scattered. without a local partner with whom to work and cia sources on the ground, we're flying a little blind. >> will they be targeting u.s. individuals, u.s. troops, the taliban? what do you see? >> their principle target is us that, es why they're such a rival who sees them as a threat for their own resources and manpower. i think they'd try to stage the most simple attacks as they could which might lookly be the people waiting outside the airport. it would be hard for them to

i want to start with obviously president biden authorized that unmanned air strike against an isis-k anner in eastern afghanistan. one of the things you've always heard from afghanistan of isis officials is how difficult they are to track. obviously with so many released from prison over the last couple days, that's complicated factors. what does it tell you that the u.s. was able to at least identify one individual tied to this attack? >> i think, phil, it's interesting that it took place in the nangarhar province in eastern afghanistan. this is where isis-k came to power several years ago. it's sort of been a stronghold for them. i imagine the intelligence used to carry out this strike was not something that was developed yesterday, given the fact that isis-k has long had a presence in that particular province. but it does also raise the issue, you know, going forward, you mentioned that the intelligence on this group is not easy to develop, it's a relatively small group. the estimate is between 1,000 and 2,000 fighters. going forward, as we draw-down -- as united states draws down

isis-k orris mick state in the korison and nobody has said that isis-k has lost that ability to carry out more attacks. kabul remains a target-rich environment. there are loads of civilians trying to get into the airport and other targets around the city and the fact is that afghanistan has become in recent weeks something of a disney land of terrorists of all sorts, not just isis-k. remember, the taliban itself is a terrorist organization but you have many other recruits coming in from around the world and coming there so this is a capability that continues, and that's why when you hear those warnings from the pentagon podium a few minutes ago saying they are still concerned about attacks those are real because the intelligence is the same. >> what is the purpose? is it a demonstration of quote, unquote strength although i can't think of anything more cowardly than a suicide attack on civilians because the united states is leaving. >> yeah. often are you see these kinds of activities happen as alleged way to drive people out. >> sure. >> but the u.s. is leaving. is this more having t

the taliban doesn't seem to like isis-k. it has to establish that it has some kind of command and control over afghanistan. i think one of the big questions going forward, 20 years ago when the taliban was last in power, afghanistan was almost a medieval state. there were no paved roads outside of the center of kabul and the main cities. you had to go across the border to pakistan to make a phone call because there was no telephone infrastructure. now you have paved roads, functioning airports, cell phone networks that ironically the taliban used to fight against the u.s. during the 20 years of the u.s. presence there. a big question will be, will the taliban maintain open trade and relations with its neighbors and allow investment to continue to come in so that there can be kind of ordinary commerce, or will it go back again to the medieval times and look like it did the last time the taliban was in power? there are also still pockets of opposition, and this is incredible, the cycle of history. 20 years ago, the valley nort

isis-k is an offshoot of isis and the k stands for khorasan, a region that stands for parts of what is today afghanistan, pakistan, generally speaking central asia on june the 25th, the state department december prescribed isis-k like this one of the more lethal and active isis branches that are in afghanistan. that's a direct quote. and in a telebriefing with reporters that same day, he went on to say the intention of the administration would remained focussed on making sure that isis-k is not able to conduct attacks and threaten populations in afghanistan two months to the day later almost, officials say the group struck with us now, catherine zimmerman, fellow at the american enterprise institute focussed on terror groups. catherine, clearly isis-k is capable. how did they come to be? >> the islamic state isis-k is a sprinter from the pakistani taliban, and it has been able to recruit from members of the taliban inside of afghanistan and some of the other smaller groups that cooperate with the taliban in order to expand and it's been able to withdraw those recruits because of offers

maybe even a ground assault by a group of isis-k fighters.ou have got to be prepared for any and all of that. and, of course, it is dangerous because once we start to draw down troops, we have less response capability. obviously we're going to do everything we can to put overhead assets there to monitor from the air, to be ready to strike back and defend from the air, but it's not the same as having the troops on the ground. >> yeah. they're also worried about a potential shoulder fired or surface air missile that could take down a plane. ian, a day after the deadly attack yesterday, the pentagon now clarifying this was one bombing, one suicide bombing, not two. how critical is it for the biden administration to try and potentially thwart some copy cat attacks? >> that is not the case at this point yet, right? i mean, clearly they were able to warn the civilians, american civilians a few hours in ad advance. they all got out. and they're very concerned that those 500 american civilians that are left trying to evacuate, what happens to them. b

i think any immediate attempt by the united states is a pipe dream to get the isis-k oper operatives. these are people who have been operating in this urban environment, committing appalling atrocities. you'll recall recently a bomb attack at a girls school. that was isis khorasan. they particularly pick on these groups where they can try to sow sectarian discontent. they're all about creating friction, and that's exactly what this attack was about, trying to create friction between the taliban and the americans at this very, very dangerous time during the withdrawal. >> well, sam, oren, kaitlan, thank you very much. more with our reporters, our correspondents on the ground there live in the coming hours here on cnn as we have been watching them do their work all day. we'll continue on. >>> u.s. officials warning of more imminent threats from isis-k in afghanistan. so can u.s. intelligence stop them from attacking again? mission control, we are go for launch. ♪ t-minus two minutes and counting. ♪ um, she's eating the rocket. -copy that, she's eating the rocket. i assume we needed that

s. against pakistan turned into isis k central. it's the same thing as isis. so most viewers would know slumming, state of iraq and syria, isis, which was this group that took over in 2014, 2015 big swats of iraq and syria. and by the way, who were able to do that because of massive amounts of military equipment that the us left behind, specifically in iraq, that's where they really got their weapons from. they went into iraq, took those home these weapons and went back into syria, isis k, which is the islamic state of correson, which essentially means eastern. they don't like the taliban, they're not friends with the taliban. they've been fighting the taliban. but more importantly, they've been fighting the us and i bring up the point about the weapons because we just did the exact same thing and up dennis and left behind. unbelievable amounts of us military equipment, massive amounts of weaponry and guns black hawk helicopters from these. we left it all there the same way that we did in iraq. so we could be creating a very similar problem of what we saw. 201

why did a commander of isis-k agree to sit down and speak with a woman?, i think first of all, anderson, it's important for our viewers to understand that there is always a lot of hypocrisy with these jihadist groups. i have experienced it many times before. what they say and what they do are very different. the irony here is that this commander's group, this isis-k branch, actually released a propaganda video today in which it was specifically chastising the taliban for doing interviews with women and for having conversations with women. and yet, as you saw, he was willing to meet with me privately in a room. there were very few of us in that room. i was not completely covered because it was a secure location in kabul, and this was before the fall of the city. i think it's fair to say that he agreed to meet with us because he had a very specific message that he wanted delivered. at the time, i don't think we quite understood the gravity of that message and the seriousness of it. but given what we now know about how closely u.s. intelligence has been trac

how that will play out remains to be said, isis k or isis course on claimed responsibility. and today there really continues to be some of the back and forth between the taliban and us officials over who is ultimately to blame for the security breach. you heard the taliban spokesman talking about that it was really the, the u. s. security failure as the u. s was responsible for guarding the entrance to the airport, but the u. s. maintain that it was the taliban failure for even allowing i sisters to get through and basically infiltrate the crowd. regardless, the evacuation effort continues along with as president binding said, the hunt for those responsible for thursdays attacked the deadliest day by the way for us forces in afghanistan in a decade. president biden said the u. s. will hunt down those responsible though. this also comes after just a few weeks ago, the president essentially lauding america's success in the region mission to degrade the terrors, tread about cod in afghanistan and kilo some have been lied and was a success. i believed that our presence in that g

and isis-k, at least the taliban had said it was isis-k that was mostly targeting high-profile women,o yes, they face a multitude of threats. the taliban's political wing has offered amnesty to most people like this. but the taliban's military wing, which has many more of the fire brand extremists or those on the ground fighting and are bitter, they're the ones that issued notices say you have to show up to a taliban trial so you could tell us why you worked for the invaders and then we'll decide your face. >> a taliban trial. that is a live picture from the briefing room in the pentagon. any moment now we'll have a briefing from the pentagon officials on the latest on the u.s. evacuation operations. we'll go to that live the moment it starts. i have spoken to afghans who work for the u.s. government and one told me that the taliban has come to the door of their house and saying we don't want to hurt you, we want to you come work for us now that you work for the americans. it is almost darkly comical right, to hear that from them knowing what these groups are capable of. >> well that

in the eyes of isis k. the islamic emory strongly condemns the bombing targeting civilians at cocoa airports. explosion took place in an area where the us forces are responsible for security. the bottom line is isis k presents a massive security and reputational challenge for the taliban. given the taliban attempts to look more civil, humane and legitimate, we could conceivably soon see. i mean, strangers, it sounds a taliban lead anti terrorist operation, or isis k might become the perfect pretext for the us to negotiate at least some presence in talib, uncontrolled of garrison. we did hear about this group, for example, and i believe, april 2017. when trump and essentially authorized the pentagon to drop the mother of all bombs in eastern afghanistan, i believe in the non ga har province on ices k. but the roots of this group in its existence is poorly understood. and of course, when we hear these press briefings at the pentagon, there's very little context. this group actually is a direct byproduct of th

what we've gotten but the background is they've been very worried about the terrorist organization isis-koup from isis and covers much of the region we mentioned earlier in this newscast isis-k is a sworn enemy of the taliban, who now run the country. they are certainly enemies of the united states and all things western. and we've reported for days they'd like nothing better than to create chaos and cause massive problems for both the taliban and the united states. in the context of that, this security alert at the airport. so the urgent warning is all these thousands of people around the gates at the airport who are trying to get in and get out of the country should leave there immediately. a terror alert at the airport, outside the gates, at the airport in kabul should there be any more developments on this, we'll take you there immediately. in the meantime, at least two dozen students and parents from san diego county are now stranded in afghanistan after they took, get this, a summer trip to visit their families there. school officials say they're caught up in the chaos near the very

as an ant bite and has given approval to his military commanders to really go after isis k. i says, course on. because of what happened yesterday. so the president saying the military can go after isis. what that will mean? how that will play out remains to be said, isis k or isis course on claimed responsibility. and today they're really continues to be some of the back and forth between the taliban and us officials over who is ultimately to blame for the security breach. you heard the taliban spokesman talking about that it was really the, the u. s. security failure as the u. s was responsible for guarding the entrance to the airport, but the us maintain that it was the taliban failure for even allowing sisters to get through and basically infiltrate the crowds. regardless of the evacuation effort continues along with as president vine, and said the hunt for those responsible for thursday's attack, the deadliest day, by the way, for us forces in afghanistan in a decade. president biden said the u. s. will hunt down those responsible though this also comes after just a few w

it's very risky and dangerous, because there is a genuine threat from isis k. that is the reality of what we are up against. i'm not gonna sugarcoat that reality. >> how real is this isis threat? >> the threat is real. it's a cute. it's persistent. >> isis-k is a sworn enemy of the taliban. they have history of fighting one another. but every day we have troops on the ground, these troops, innocence ebullience at the airport, faced the risk of attack from isis k from a distance, even though we're moving back the perimeter significantly. >> we are sustaining the highest level of vigilance for an attack against the airport by isis-k, or another terrorist group. >> they're real, and significant challenges that we also have to take into consideration. the longer we stay, starting with the acute and growing risk of an attack by a terrorist group known as isis-k, an isis affiliate and afghanistan, which is a sworn enemy of the taliban as well. every day we're on the ground, is another day we know that isis-k seeking to target the airport, and attack both u.s. and alli

as we reported, she secured an interview with an isis-k commander. to the taliban. it is an offshoot of isis which until a few days ago most americans had never heard about. here is her report. >> reporter: two weeks before the attack, just days before kabul fell to the taliban, we were in touch with a senior isis-k commander who said the group was lying low and waiting for its moment to strike. words that turned out to be eerily prophetic. so this commander said he will do an interview with us here at a hotel in kabul. he said it is no problem for him to get through check points and come right into the capital. to prove his point, he let us film his arrival into the city. he is an isis-k commander from the heart of the terrorist groups operations. he agreed to talk on the condition that we disguise his identity. in a kabul hotel, he told us he's had up to 600 men under his command. among them indians, pakistan and central asians. like many of his foot soldiers, we used to fight with the taliban but says they have fallen under the influence of foreig

officials believe the terror group isis-k is behind the attacks. r several days about a possible isis attack at the airport. the u.s. embassy put out a warning to americans just last night to stay away from the gates there. here with us now is cnn producer tim lister. tim, we've been talking about just the paths forward. there seems to be no clear path forward and no good options here for this administration. based on what you know and what we just saw, what do you expect we are going to hear? >> i expect we're going to hear perhaps in the next day or so a claim of responsibility, and i expect that will come from isis khorason, which is that province of isis that is active in afghanistan. we're not sure, of course. there's been no claim of responsibility yet, but they had the capability, they had the motivation, and it is their modus operandi. a large number of civilians, static in one place, these are the sort of attacks they've been carrying out in kabul for the best part of five years. in the first four months of this year alone, victor, there we

the very real possibility of an isis-k attack. isis-k. from the president, isis affiliate in afghanistan. every day we are on the ground is another day we know that isis-k is seeking to target the airport and attack both u.s. and allied forces and innocent civilians. which is exactly what happened. for -- for a -- a week now. up to and including yesterday with those remarks from secretary of state antony blinken. up to and including overnight last night, that urgent directive from the u.s. embassy in kabul that all americans should leave the abbey gate immediately because of a specific threat there. they have been on this as an increasingly explicit threat of something they believed could and would happen. they said they believed it would happen at the airport. it would target u.s. forces. it would target innocent civilians at the airport. it would come from isis-k. i mean, the president was explicit that with each, passing day that we kept going with these evacuation mission at the airport, an attack like the one we saw today was more li

military has retaliated, launched a strike against isis k, isis khorasan, in retaliation for the attack that killed so many u.s. service members and afghans at the airport yesterday. we are also watching what is a large hurricane bearing down on the gulf coast and new orleans specifically. hurricane ida is going to be a huge deal over the course of this weekend. you need to keep an eye on it. we hope that it turns and it doesn't end up on the track that it looks like it is ending up on tonight. and if you are in the path of hurricane ida, please, please pay attention to local evacuation warnings and forecasts. heed these warnings, it is a big storm. that's going to do it for us for now. now jonathan capehart -- >> good evening jonathan, it's a big night already. >> it is rachel, you've covered a lot of big news. but i have to say i couldn't get ready for tonight's show, listening to you breaking down how people couldn't trust the cdc but fully taking recommendations medications to take ivermectin. >> what is it, ivermectin? >> ivermectin. it does nothing for covid, it can prevent worms

got very specific intelligence that isis-k, the isis affiliate there in afghanistan wanted to carry out attacks at the airport and particularly to target americans. that was when the situation there changed. the u.s. -- they were worried about getting americans through those crowds and they were worried about the vulnerability and any potential suicide attackers and the u.s. started working more with the taliban, coordinating with them on the ground so that americans could be -- could still safely transit to the airport and in some cases some other third country nationals and some afghans might be able to transit through that area, again, in the midst of all of this, was there a successful attack today and a complex attack meaning it occurred in more than one location. in this case, it was two separate locations just outside the airport and we are trying to get to the bottom of, no matter who is behind it, but also exactly how many people may be injured and may be killed including americans. >> and kelly, what are you hearing about what's going on behind the scenes at the white house? w

a lot of the times isis-k seem to be blamed for things. t of the things they're blamed for, some suggest may be other rogue groups like the taliban or even al qaeda doing things and blaming isis. but at the same time, too, the attack today, they go into a densely populated area, detonate one blast, general mckenzie talked about gunfire after that, as well. and then a secondary blast. you have one more thing to think about, it appears that this attacker was able to kill a horrifying number of u.s. personnel. that must mean the bomb was detonated in a relatively small space. it's unlikely the marines would have come out, given that we know they are selectively choosing people to come over that gate. so it suggests this individual may have been picked out and brought into what we know as the search lane there, a much more densely crowded area, where possibly a device could have gone off to greater devastating effect. that is part of the puzzle they're trying to piece together now. how did this extremely ruthless suicide bomber get to that part

this is isis-k, and this is an aerial vehicle. maybe a missile. y have hit a suv, a house or something. it's not a killing blow against isis. these are necessary strikes. how many of them are significant? unknown. these terrorist groups have proved to be very rezsilient an even when you take out the top leadership, someone else comes in. you have to get on the ground, you have to disrupt the networks, rip up the papers, destroy communications and disperse the groups and finish them. we haven't been able to do that. of course, all the terrorism groups have mat it's a sized so we know, we have a significant problem. we will do the best question with these kinds of kinetic strikes but we're still searching for the real solution here. >> so, general, is it more dangerous for our troops, if the u.s. to conduct this attack while our forces are defending the airport and trying to evacuate in a few days? the deadline is tuesday. it's friday. it's coming quickly. >> absolutely the more dangerous. the more you can do to disrupt these groups, the better. they

do they have the capability to thwart terrorist groups such as isis-k?reporter: well, i think the taliban, jake, is really getting a sense now of just what they're up against, because, as you mentioned, it's a completely different thing to be an insurgency than it is to be governing. i'll never forget general david petraeus saying they have to be right once, we have to be right all the time. and now it's the taliban that has to be right all the time. cnn has spoken to a taliban source who said that their primary concern right now is that isis-k militants are basically melting into the taliban, pretending to be the taliban. and it's incredibly difficult for the taliban to know who is indeed part of their own fighting force and who may be militant jihadist elements from isis-k. that poses a real threat and a real danger, because as our viewers may not understand, there are so many different taliban fighters from so many different parts of the country under different command who have all descended on kabul to try to provide security there. so if isis milita

or commanders on the ground have taken every step they can to prepare for such an attack. isis k is an afghan off shoot of the same the tory as islam state terror group. it's based in correson. hence, the letter k in the abbreviation with over 2000 g. hardy's committed to its terrible cause. the group targets have ghana stones most vulnerable the the if you think this may have been isis case law strike at the exiting foreign troops before a happy union with the taliban? well think again. the 2 groups are sworn enemies with the taliban just not radical enough. in the eyes of isis k, the islamic emory strongly condemns the bombing targeting civilians at coco airport . the explosion took place in an area where us forces are responsible for security . the bottom line is isis k presents a massive security and reputational challenge for the taliban. given the talents attempts to look more civil, humane and legitimate, we could conceivably soon see. i mean, strangers, it sounds a taliban lead anti terrorist operation, or isis k might become the perfect pretext for the us to negotiate at least

the terror group isis-k claiming responsibility. so, who are they? ey claim to be a branch of isis. the k stands for khorasan. an area around the afghan- afghan-pakistan border and into parts of iran, as well, and other parts of south asia. their goal is to create an islamic caliphate across afghanistan and beyond into some of those countries. along with being a rival and enemy of the taliban, they seek to target western organizations, civilians, and anyone who doesn't meet their severe interpretation of islam. they have already have an extensive record of murderous atrocities. for more, cnn's jomana karadsheh joins me now from istanbul. she's extensively covered the rise and fall of isis in iraq and elsewhere. so, jomana, good to see you. isis-k, an off-chute of isis proper, what more can you tell us about the group? the aims? the capabilities? >> well, michael, as you mention there, theis is a group that emerged in afghanistan back in 2014-'15 as an affiliate of what was the islamic or the so-called islamic state in iraq and syria. isis now. they're

brian, i didn't answer you earlier, it is isis-k. isis khorason.y tend to use the old islamic names for it. the same way isis is in the levant, refers to the area in the middle east where isis has a base, this is the isis branch that operating in the afghan region. but the taliban are already blaming this attack while they're condemning it, they're saying the only reason that it took place and the only reason there are about 60 afghans who lost their lives this afternoon in afghanistan is because the u.s. presence is there, because it is a magnet, because it is drawing in extremists and because it is drawing in afghans. the taliban commanders i spoke to were furious that those planes are still there. they say that afghans are going to the airport because those planes, they can see them taking off and landing, and that they are like a magnet. afghanistan is an extremely poor country. generally people are seeking asylum, and now when they have these train -- these planes all day long coming and going and there is this expectation, this rumor, these h

you might be wondering, who is isis-k? >> we have new information now on isis-k. its origins, background, where the fighters came from, ideology. it's considered to be an archenemy of the taliban, but more vicious. carnage and slaughter in kabul. the claim of responsibility coming from isis-k, a group claiming to be a branch of the main isis network which swept through syria and iraq in 2014. a terror force with the means and motive to launch attacks like this. >> isis-k is known for attacks that are able to slaughter a large number of civilians. this includes suicide bombings. they have had for some time an attack network that's -- that operates within kabul. >> reporter: analysts say isis-k has had no qualms about murdering innocents in their pursuit of a caliphate in afghanistan. in may they attacked a school for girls in kabul, killing at least 85 people according to afghan officials, most girls. in june an isis-k attack on a british american de-mining charity killed at least ten people. even then they weren't beginner