WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has warned that it is in the interest of the Taliban, which is now the de facto ruler of Afghanistan, that the ISIS-K does not "metastasize" beyond what it is.
The US has held ISIS-K, the regional affiliate of the Islamic State terror outfit, responsible for Thursday's Kabul airport attack in which 13 American soldiers were killed and 18 others injured.
"It is in the interest of the Taliban that the ISIS-K does not metastasize beyond what it is," Biden told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
During his interaction with reporters in the East Room of the White House, the president also referred to the apparent ideological differences between the Taliban and the ISIS-K.
Biden said there is no evidence so far to suggest a collusion between the Taliban and the ISIS in carrying out the airport attack.
Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul's airport, killing at least 60 Afghans, besides the 13 US troops.
Biden said it is also in America's interest to be able to leave Afghanistan "on time, on target" as he referred to the cooperation that the US is receiving from the Taliban.
"No one trusts them (the Taliban). We're just counting on their self-interest to continue to generate their activities. And it's in their self-interest that we leave when we said and that we get as many people out as we can," Biden said.
Responding to a question, he said the Taliban are "not good guys".
"They (Taliban) are not good guys. But they have a keen interest. They very much like to figure out how to keep the airport open and have the capacity to do it. They are trying to figure out whether or not they can maintain what is a portion of an economy that has become not robust but fundamentally different than it had been," Biden said.
Responding to a question, he said the reason why the Taliban did not attack the US troops in the last one year was because of the deal that they had with the previous Trump administration.
"The former president (Donald Trump) made a deal with the Taliban that he would get all American forces out of Afghanistan by May 1. In return, he was given a commitment that the Taliban would continue to attack others but would not attack any American forces," he said.
Biden is pressing ahead with the evacuation of Americans and others from Afghanistan after attacks that killed at least 12 US service members and dashed hopes of ending the 20-year US war without further bloodshed.
Calling off the evacuation immediately would mean leaving behind hundreds of Americans still trying to get out of the Taliban-controlled country.
Biden was briefed on the attacks, which also killed dozens of Afghans and came 12 days into the rushed evacuation and five days before its scheduled completion.
Some Republicans argued to extend the evacuation beyond next Tuesday's deadline.
The US general overseeing the evacuation, General Frank McKenzie, said after the attacks, "If we can find who is associated with this, we will go after them."
He said it would be a mistake for the United States to call an early end to the evacuation, despite the risks.
The administration has been widely blamed for a chaotic and deadly evacuation that began in earnest only after the collapse of the US-based Afghan government and the Taliban's takeover of the country.
More than 100,000 people have been evacuated so far.
Thursday's attacks were sure to intensify political pressure from all sides on Biden, who already was under heavy criticism for not beginning the pullout earlier.
He had announced in April that he was ending the US war and would have all forces out by September.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California called for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the chamber back into session to consider legislation that would prohibit the US withdrawal until all Americans are out.
That's highly unlikely, and Pelosi's office dismissed such suggestions as "empty stunts".
At the Pentagon, Gen McKenzie said the military believes the attacks on the airport's perimeter were carried out by fighters affiliated with the Islamic State group's Afghanistan arm.
He said more attempted attacks were expected.
After the suicide bomber's attack at the airport's Abbey Gate, a number of ISIS gunmen opened fire on civilians and military forces, he said.
There also was an attack at or near the Baron Hotel near that gate, he said.
The attacks won't drive the US out earlier than scheduled, he said.
"Let me be clear, while we are saddened by the loss of life, both US and Afghan, we are continuing to execute the mission," he said.
He said there were about 5,000 evacuees on the airfield Thursday awaiting flights.
He said the Taliban have been "useful to work with" and are not suspected in the attacks.
"We thought this would happen sooner or later," McKenzie said, adding that US military commanders were working with Taliban commanders to prevent further attacks.
McKenzie said in addition to the 12 US service members killed in the attacks, at least 15 were injured.
As details of the attacks emerged, the White House rescheduled Biden's first in-person meeting with Israel's new prime minister and cancelled a video conference with governors about Afghan refugees arriving in the United States.
Biden had pledged to get out of Afghanistan every American who wished to leave.
As of Wednesday, the State Department said about 4,500 American citizens had been flown out, with about 1,500 yet to go.
Biden on Thursday was to host Israeli leader Naftali Bennett, who is on his first visit to the United States since taking office.
The meeting was rescheduled for Friday.
Biden also had planned to meet virtually with a bipartisan group of governors who have said they want to help resettle Afghan refugees fleeing their now Taliban-ruled country.
A regular briefing by government health and medical experts also was postponed.
The deadly developments in the Afghan capital of Kabul forced the White House to tear up Biden's schedule.
He was monitoring the airport situation, which was prompted by the upcoming Tuesday deadline he set for removing American citizens and troops from Afghanistan.
A number of US allies said they were ending their evacuation efforts in Kabul, at least in part to give the US the time it needs to wrap up its evacuation operations before getting more than 5,000 US troops out by Tuesday.
Despite intense pressure to extend the Tuesday deadline, Biden has repeatedly cited the threat of terrorist attacks against civilians and US service members as a reason to keep to his plan.
The explosions detonated as the US worked to get remaining Americans out of the country.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation.
Asked during an interview with ABC News about reports the evacuation could end on Friday, Ross Wilson, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, declined to comment.
He spoke shortly before the deadly attacks.
Wilson said "there are safe ways to get to" the airport for those Americans who still want to leave.
He added that "there undoubtedly will be" some at-risk Afghans who will not get out before Biden's deadline.
The airlift continued Thursday despite warnings of vehicle-borne bomb threats near the airport.
The White House said 13,400 people had been evacuated in the 24 hours that ended early Thursday morning Washington time.
Those included 5,100 people aboard US military planes and 8,300 on coalition and partner aircraft.
That was a substantial drop from the 19,000 airlifted by all means the day before.
Gen. Frank McKenzie said the attacks on Thursday were believed to have been carried out by fighters associated with the Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate.
He said the attacks, which killed 12 U.S. service members, would not stop the United States from continuing its evacuation of Americans and others.
McKenzie warned there are still "extremely active" security threats at the airport in the Afghan capital.
"We expect these attacks to continue," he said, adding that Taliban commanders have been asked to take additional security measures to prevent another suicide bombing on the airport's perimeter.
He said he sees no indication that the Taliban allowed Thursday's attacks to happen.
Also Thursday, Defense Secretary LLoyd Austin suggested the evacuation will go on and expressed his "deepest condolences to the loved ones and teammates of all those killed and wounded in Kabul today."
"Terrorists took their lives at the very moment these troops were trying to save the lives of others," he said.
"We mourn their loss. We will treat their wounds. And we will support their families in what will most assuredly be devastating grief. But we will not be dissuaded from the task at hand."
"To do anything less, especially now, would dishonor the purpose and sacrifice these men and women have rendered our country and the people of Afghanistan," the statement also said.
UK condemns attack
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the "barbaric" bomb attack at Kabul airport has caused "many" casualties, but that the U.K. evacuation operation in Afghanistan will continue for a bit longer.
Johnson offered condolences to the U.S. and Afghanistan, saying Americans "very sadly have lost their lives," and there were also "many Afghan casualties."
He said Britain would continue with the evacuation operation, though "we're now coming towards the end of it."
He said that "what this attack shows is the importance of continuing that work in as fast and as efficient manner as possible in the hours that remain to us."
Johnson did not say when the British effort would end.
U.S. forces are due to leave the airport by Aug.31, and other countries' missions will have to wrap up before then.
Several countries have already announced the end of their airlifts.
He also said that the "overwhelming majority" of people eligible to come to Britain have been evacuated from Afghanistan, but time is running out on the airlift.
Boris Johnson said about 15,000 people have left Kabul airport on Royal Air Force flights.
He said that "in the time we have left, which may be -- as I'm sure everybody can appreciate -- quite short, we'll do everything we can to get everybody else."
U.S. forces are due to leave the airport by August 31, and other countries' missions will have to wrap up before then.
Visiting a military base in London where the British evacuation effort is being coordinated, Johnson said Britain hoped to continue evacuations after the end of the month, and urged the Taliban to facilitate it.
Johnson said "the safe passage for those who want to come out is the key precondition" for development aid and access to international funding for Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.