challenge the taliban takeover of afghanistan? i mean, it s i think that we, from a distance, we tend we tend to lump these groups together. they are enemies. what s their conflict going to look like? isis will absolutely butt heads with the taliban. it has been doing so. in fact, over the past five years, it s been conducting regular assassinations against taliban commanders, as well as foot soldiers in a range of places. not only where isis is concentrated today in afghanistan, which is in the east. nangarhar province. but also, target it has targeted them in places like kandahar, in places like kabul, and and other provinces of afghanistan. so isis has already been doing that. what has been keeping it at bay mostly are the afghan commandos and the u.s. forces. now that they are not in the picture or the calculation, isis will undoubtedly launch more strategic attacks. targeting painful spots for the taliban.
these isis terrorists will not win. we will rescue the americans who are there. we will get our afghan allies out. our mission will go on. america will not be intimidated. for those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes america harm, know this. we will not forgive. we will not forget. we will hunt you down and make you pay. i will defend our interests and our people with every measure at my command. will make you pay. and we will continue the mission to get our our allies out. even after what today was the most deadly day for u.s. forces in afghanistan since the worst day of the war and the worst day
and they have a history of fighting one another. but every day, we have troops on the ground. these troops and innocent civilians at the airport face 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 in 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 is seeking to target the airport and attack both u.s. and allied forces and innocent civilians. it s hard to overstate the complexity and the danger of this effort. we re operating in a hostile environment in a city and
photojournalist working for the los angeles times. he is joining us live now from kabul. mr. yam plans to remain there. he was at the site of the bombing outside the gates of the kabul airport. thanks for taking such pains to be with us tonight. i know this is not an easy time difference or, indeed, an easy time. thank you for having me on the show. so, u.s. officials up to and including president biden had repeatedly warned that crowds at the airport might be targeted by an isis terrorist attack. when you ve been there in recent days. when you have been among the crowds at the airport, what what was it like? did it seem like it was a soft target for a potential attack? did it seem like those those sort of warnings were were warranted on the ground? um i mean, first of all, i mean generally i stay away from crowds.
afghanistan are have been the sworn enemy of the taliban. . there is complexity and there is turbulence on the ground in in kabul. and it s very risky and dangerous because there s a er genuine threat from isis-k. that is the reality of what we are up against, and i m not gonna sugarcoat that reality. how real is this isis threat? the threat is real. it is acute. it is persistent. e. isis-k is a sworn enemy of the taliban. and they have a history of fighting one another. but every day, we have troops on the ground. these troops and innocent civilians at the airport face the risk of attack from isis-k from a distance even though f 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 toc take into consideration. the longer we stay, starting