KABUL, Afghanistan (AP/1010 WINS) — Islamic State militants fired a volley of rockets at Kabul's rapidly emptying international airport on Monday, with just hours left before a deadline for U.S. forces to withdraw at the end of America's longest war.
A view from the scene after at least five rockets were fired at the Afghan capital Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, 2021.Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A view from the scene after at least five rockets were fired at the Afghan capital Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, 2021.Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A view from the scene after at least five rockets were fired at the Afghan capital Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, 2021.Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Some of the rockets landed across town, striking residential apartment blocks, witnesses said. That neighborhood is about 3 kilometers (under 2 miles) from the airport. No injuries were reported.
A crowd quickly gathered Monday around the remains of a four-door sedan used in the rocket attack. The car had what appeared to be six homemade rocket tubes mounted in place of its back seats.
Five rockets targeted the airport, said Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a U.S. military spokesman. A defensive weapon known as a C-RAM — a Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System — targeted the rockets in a whirling hail of ammunition, he said. The system has a distinct, drill-like sound that echoed through the city at the time of the attack.
A view from the scene after at least five rockets were fired at the Afghan capital Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, 2021. Local sources confirmed the rockets were fired but intercepted via defense systems installed at the airport. Casualties are feared, but no immediate details were available. US President Joe Biden had warned an attack was âvery likely,❠as the clock is ticking for the full withdrawal of US forces by the deadline, Tuesday, set by the Taliban, who took control of Kabul on Aug. 15.Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A view from the scene after at least five rockets were fired at the Afghan capital Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, 2021.Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A view from the scene after at least five rockets were fired at the Afghan capital Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, 2021. Local sources confirmed the rockets were fired but intercepted via defense systems installed at the airport. Casualties are feared, but no immediate details were available. US President Joe Biden had warned an attack was âvery likely,❠as the clock is ticking for the full withdrawal of US forces by the deadline, Tuesday, set by the Taliban, who took control of Kabul on Aug. 15.Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The White House said President Joe Biden was briefed on the rocket attack.
"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," the statement said, using an acronym for Kabul's airport.
