Despite the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stated on Tuesday that the Pentagon will continue to undertake drone attacks against ISIS-K terrorists and other targets within the country as needed.

"We have the capability from an over the horizon perspective of ensuring our national security interests are protected and defended," Kirby said in an interview with NPR. "And what I would tell you, without getting into hypotheticals or speculating about future operations, we're going to continue to maintain those capabilities and use them if and when we need to."

In the interview, Kirby stated unequivocally that the US would not pursue a long-term military presence in Afghanistan.

"The military mission in Afghanistan is complete, as is the 20-year war that we waged there. The president made it obvious that he wanted to bring the war to a close. And we've terminated it," he said, adding that the Pentagon "does not currently consider that Afghanistan poses a major danger to our national security."

"But we're not going to let this opportunity pass us by. We're not going to look away from it. We have a strong capability for looking beyond the horizon. We'll continue to utilize them when and when we need them "Kirby went on to say.

On Monday, nearly 20 years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the last American troops left Kabul's airport.

Last week's suicide explosion at Kabul airport, which killed 13 US personnel, was claimed by the terrorist group Islamic State-Khorasan.

US President Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw American soldiers from Afghanistan on Tuesday, but he also warned ISIS-K that "we are not done with you yet."