The U.S. military conducted an airstrike in a crowded neighborhood northwest of Kabul‘s international airport Sunday in order to deter a possible bombing, a U.S. official confirmed.

A military official told Fox News that a vehicle-born improvised explosive device (IED) posed an “imminent threat” to the airport. The U.S. military acted to intervene and prevent another event like the one that occurred Thursday last week when a suicide bomb killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghan citizens.

JAKE SULLIVAN: BIDEN ‘WILL STOP AT NOTHING’ TO GET JUSTICE FOR FALLEN SERVICE MEMBERS AFTER ISIS-K ATTACK

“U.S. military forces conducted a self-defense unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike today on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating an imminent ISIS-K threat to Hamad Karzai International airport,” Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, told Fox News. “We are confident we successfully hit the target.”

“Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material,” he continued.

Urban added that the military is assessing the possibility of civilian casualties, though there is no indication at the time. A senior defense official also told Fox News that the vehicle carried “multiple” suicide bombers.

Smoke rises after an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 29, 2021. (Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

TALIBAN RULE WILL BE ‘A LONG SLOW DEATH’ FOR WOMEN, LARA LOGAN SAYS

The Associated Press reported that an Afghan police chief claimed the explosion killed at least one child.

The official’s comments that the strike used “over-the-horizon” capabilities indicated that the military used an unmanned drone from a military base in the Gulf.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a message to journalists that the strike targeted the bomber as he drove a vehicle loaded with explosives. Mujahid offered few other details.

EXPERTS QUESTION DECISION NOT TO NAME ISIS TERRORISTS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN DRONE STRIKE

The attack comes as the United States winds down a historic airlift that saw tens of thousands evacuated from Kabul’s international airport, the scene of much of the chaos that engulfed the Afghan capital since the Taliban took over two weeks ago.

U.S. military cargo planes continued their runs into the airport Sunday, ahead of a Tuesday deadline earlier set by President Joe Biden to withdraw all troops from America’s longest war.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The drone strike Sunday occurred as families were receiving their fallen sons and daughters at Dover Air Force Base. President Biden, Chairman of Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived at Dover to meet with the families ahead of the dignified transfer of the fallen.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.