MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Terrorists that attacked Kabul airport earlier in the day did so to demonstrate their strength, which, in turn, showed that the United States was far from reaching its goals in Afghanistan, the chairman of the Russian upper chamber of parliament's foreign affairs committee told Sputnik Wednesday.
According to Konstanin Kosachev, the demonstration of strength on part of the terrorist was successful, given that two terrorist organization at once wanted to claim it, "showing to the Americans, first of all, how far they are from achieving their objectives in Afghanistan."
In late August, Trump unveiled new US strategy in Afghanistan, where US troops have been deployed for over a decade to assist local forces. Trump said that Washington would expand US military authority in Afghanistan and promised swift and powerful retribution to terrorists and criminals.
The attack on the Kabul airport was carried out at around 11:15 a.m. local time (06:45 GMT) a few hours after the US Defense Secretary James Mattis and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in the city. According to media reports, the Taliban and Daesh terrorist groups (both outlawed in Russia) have separately claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban reportedly claimed that Mattis was the target of the attack.
