Homes hit by rockets fired at Kabul airport amid US withdrawal

Rocket fire apparently targeting Kabul’s international airport struck a nearby neighbourhood on Monday, the eve of the deadline for American 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 in the Afghan capital.

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 home-made 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 residential 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 on the ground,” the statement said.

The US military did not respond to requests for comment.

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 at one point on Monday morning.

The airport had been one of the few ways out for foreigners and Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover. However, coalition nations have halted their evacuations in recent days, leaving the US military largely alone at the base with some remaining allied Afghan forces providing security.

The US State Department released a statement on Sunday signed by around 100 countries, as well as Nato and the European Union, saying they have received “assurances” from the Taliban that people with travel documents will still be able to leave the country.

The Taliban has said it will allow normal travel after the US withdrawal is completed on Tuesday and it assumes control of the airport.

However, it remains unclear how the militants will run the airport and which commercial carriers will begin flying in given the ongoing security concerns.

While the Taliban has honoured a pledge not to attack Western forces as long as they evacuate by Tuesday, the threat from the Islamic State’s local affiliate remains a danger.

The group, known as the Khorasan Province, or Isis-K, after a historic name for the region, saw some of its members freed as the Taliban released prisoners across the country during its takeover.

On Sunday, a US drone strike blew up a vehicle carrying Islamic State suicide bombers before they could attack the ongoing military evacuation at Kabul’s airport, American officials said.

An Afghan official said three children were killed in the strike.

US Navy Captain Bill Urban, a spokesman for the American military’s Central Command, acknowledged the reports of civilian casualties.

“We would be deeply saddened by any potential loss of innocent life,” he said.

The US carried out another drone strike elsewhere in the country on Saturday which it said killed two Islamic State members.

By Tuesday, the US is set to conclude a massive two-week-long airlift 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.

However, Afghans remain fearful of the Taliban returning to the oppressive rule for which it was once known. There have been sporadic reports of killings and other abuses in the sweep across the country.