Rockets fired at airport strike homes in Kabul
ROCKET fire apparently targeting Kabul’s international airport struck a nearby neighbourhood on Monday, the eve of the deadline for US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt.
The rockets did not halt the steady stream of US military C-17 cargo jets taking off and landing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital.
The so-called Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan, Isis-K claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it fired at least six Katyusha rockets at the airport.
The claim of responsibility was carried by the militant group’s media arm, the Aamaq news agency.
Last week, the so-called Islamic State group launched a devastating suicide bombing at one of the airport gates that killed at least 169 Afghans and 13 US service members.
The airport has repeatedly been a scene of chaos in the two weeks since the Taliban blitz that took control of Afghanistan, nearly 20 years after the initial US invasion that followed the September 11 terrorist attacks.
But since the suicide bombing, the Taliban have tightened their security cordon around the airfield, with their fighters seen close to the fence separating them from the runway.
In the capital’s Chahr-e-Shaheed neighbourhood, a crowd quickly gathered around the remains of a four-door car used by the attackers, which had what appeared to be six homemade rocket tubes mounted where the back seat should be.
The Islamic State group and other militants routinely mount such tubes into vehicles and quietly transport them undetected close to a target.
Local resident Jaiuddin Khan said: “I was inside the house with my children and other family members, suddenly there were some blasts. We jumped into the house compound and lay on the ground.”
The rockets landed across town in Kabul’s Salim Karwan neighbourhood, striking apartment blocks, witnesses said. That neighbourhood is nearly two miles (3km) from the airport. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
In Washington, the White House issued a statement saying officials briefed President Joe Biden on “the rocket attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport” in Kabul, apparently referring to the vehicle-based rocket launch that morning.
“The president was informed that operations continue uninterrupted at HKIA, and has reconfirmed his order that commanders redouble their efforts to prioritise doing whatever is necessary to protect our forces,” the statement said.
After the rocket fire, planes continued to land and taxi across to the northern military side of the airport. Planes were taking off roughly every 20 minutes.