KABUL: The Islamic State group claimed a rocket attack on Kabul airport yesterday as US troops raced to complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan and evacuate allies under the threat of further violence. The Pentagon warned yesterday of a "real" and "specific" threat of new attacks at Kabul airport, just hours ahead of a US deadline to complete its frenzied withdrawal from Afghanistan that has been marred by Islamic State violence.
President Joe Biden has set a deadline of August 31 to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan, drawing to a close his nation's longest war, which began in retaliation for the September 11 attacks. The return of the hardline Islamist Taleban movement, which was toppled in 2001 but took back power a fortnight ago, triggered a massive exodus of terrified people aboard US-led evacuation flights.
Those flights, which have taken more than 122,000 people out of Kabul airport, will officially end today when the last of the thousands of American troops pull out. US forces are now focused chiefly on flying themselves and American diplomats out safely.
The regional Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) group, rivals of the Taleban, pose the biggest threat to the withdrawal, after carrying out a suicide bombing outside the airport late last week that claimed more than 100 lives, including those of 13 US troops. Yesterday, they claimed to have fired six rockets at the airport. A Taleban official said the attack was intercepted by the airport's missile defense systems.
Even as the US troop presence in Afghanistan drew to an end, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that it was "a particularly dangerous time right now". "The threat stream is still real, it's still active, and in many cases it's still specific," he said yesterday.
The White House confirmed there had been a rocket attack directed at the airport yesterday, but said airlift operations there were "uninterrupted". "The President... has reconfirmed his order that commanders redouble their efforts to prioritize doing whatever is necessary to protect our forces on the ground," a White House statement said. An AFP photographer yesterday took images of a destroyed car with a launcher system still visible in the back seat.
A Taleban official at the scene said he believed five rockets had been fired. A suspected US drone strike had hit the car, about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the airport. While there were no reports of fatalities or airport damage from the rocket attacks, they caused greater anxiety for locals already traumatized by years of war.
"Since the Americans have taken control of the airport, we can't sleep properly," Abdullah, who lives near the airport and gave only one name, told AFP. "It is either gun firing, rockets, sirens or sounds of huge planes that disturb us. And now that they are being directly targeted, it can put our lives in danger." A journalist in Kabul said there was a constant sound of planes overhead, with aircraft taking off and landing, as well as jets offering surveillance and protection.
The United States earlier said an air strike on Sunday night had eliminated another threat from the Islamic State jihadists. However, it may have also have killed civilians. "We are aware of reports of civilian casualties following our strike on a vehicle in Kabul today," Captain Bill Urban, a US Central Command spokesman, said in a statement. "We would be deeply saddened by any potential loss of innocent life."
The Taleban have promised a softer brand of rule compared with their first stint in power, which the US military ended because the group gave sanctuary to Al-Qaeda. But many Afghans fear a repeat of the Taleban's brutal interpretation of Islamic law, as well as violent retribution for working with foreign militaries, Western missions or the previous US-backed government.
On Sunday, the Taleban revealed their supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada was in southern Afghanistan and planning to make a public appearance. "He is present in Kandahar," said Taleban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, referring to the movement's spiritual birthplace. - AFP