Residents in various provinces of Afghanistan, especially Kabul, Khost and Kandahar, have recently expressed concern over the increase in drone patrols in the country’s airspace.
They say that they do not know which country the drones belong to and for what purpose they are patrolling Afghanistan’s airspace.
This issue has been raised in Khost, and residents in a demonstration on Monday asked the security institutions to clarify the issue.
“Drones have been patrolling in Khost province recently and people in this provice are worried about which country these planes belong to,” said Ehsas, a resident of Khost.
“All the people of Khost are concerned about where these aircraft are from, so we ask the Islamic Emirate to inform the people about these planes–which country these planes belong to and why they are patrolling,” said Sharifullah, another resident of Khost.
But the Islamic Emirate, without giving details about the aircraft, said that Afghanistan is no longer a threat to any country and Afghanistan’s airspace should not be violated.
“Now that the situation in Afghanistan is secure, and no country is threatened by Afghanistan, there is no need for anyone or any country to interfere in any way, including in the airspace of our country,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.
Meanwhile, a number of Kandahar residents say that they have recently witnessed drones patrolling parts of the province.
“Most nights drones are heard in Kandahar, and we hear on social media about it in other provinces too,” said a Kandahar resident.
“It may be neighboring countries or powerful countries and they belong to them. This proves that Afghanistan’s airspace is ownerless,” said Asadullah Nadim, a military expert.
A source in Kabul airport’s operations department confirmed that drones are occasionally seen on the airport’s radar system, flying at altitudes of more than 35,000 ft, but it is not clear which country they belong to and what kind of goal they pursue.
The United States military targeted an attack planner in Nangarhar province in the east of Afghanistan, the US military said.
The strike comes a day after a blast killed over 170 people, including 13 US soldiers, outside of Kabul airport.
US Central Command said a Daesh attack planner was killed in the strike, Reuters reported.
“Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties,” a US military statement said.
Reacting to the airport attack, US President Joe Biden vowed to hunt down those responsible for the attack.
“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,” Biden said at a press conference hours after the attack.
