WH: Operations at Kabul Airport 'Uninterrupted' After US Air Defence System Repels Rocket Attack
03:37 GMT 30.08.2021 (Updated: 13:23 GMT 06.08.2022)
© Photo : Twitter/ Ariana News
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US officials, cited by the media, say there are no casualties among American personnel. However, at least one child was killed in the attack, local police reportedly said.
US President Joe Biden was briefed on a rocket attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday morning and was informed that operations at the airfield continue uninterrupted, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a short statement.
"National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chief of Staff Ron Klain have briefed the President on the rocket attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The President was informed that operations continue uninterrupted at HKIA, and has reconfirmed his order that commanders redouble their efforts to prioritize doing whatever is necessary to protect our forces on the ground".
As many as five rockets were fired at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul early Monday morning.
The US military engaged its C-RAM missile defence system, but, according to ABC News, it is still unclear whether all of the rockets were successfully intercepted.
TOLONews reported the rockets were fired toward the airport on Monday morning from a car in the Kabul neighbourhood of Khair Khana and hit several parts of the city.
Smoke is seen billowing near Kabul airport after several rockets were heard flying over the Afghan capital by @AFP staff Monday morning, a day after the US said it had destroyed a potential car bomb with an air strike. pic.twitter.com/8AqwTa5H7I
— Satish Cheney (@SatishCheney) August 30, 2021
Several rockets hit Kabul city Monday morning.
— Ariana News (@ArianaNews_) August 30, 2021
Eyewitnesses say the rockets were fired from a car in the Khairkhanah toward Kabul airport.
No details on casualties and damages yet.#ArianaNews pic.twitter.com/RFHvFzCPsN
The rocket attack comes after US Centcom said that a drone strike was carried out on Sunday on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating a Daesh-K* threat to the airport. At the same time, the strike is said to have killed nine civilians, all members of the same family, including six children.
Centcom later said that there was a possibility of additional casualties resulting from "secondary" explosions caused by the US airstrike.
On Saturday, the military said that two Daesh-K leaders were killed and another was injured in a US airstrike in the country's Nangarhar Province.
The retaliatory strikes followed Thursday's suicide bombing at the Kabul Airport, which killed 170 civilians and 13 US troops. The attack was claimed by Daesh-K, an offshoot of the notorious terrorist organisation in Afghanistan.
The US is set to leave Afghanistan by 31 August. By then, the Americans are expected to conclude an unprecedented evacuation of more than 114,000 Afghans and foreigners and withdraw the last of its troops, ending America's longest war with the Taliban* back in power. According to the US State Department, Washington and its allies have received "assurances" from the Taliban that people with travel documents would still be able to leave Afghanistan past the 31 August deadline.
*Daesh-K and the Taliban are terrorist organisations banned in Russia and many other nations.
