Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Leah Sinclair

Rockets fired at Kabul airport were intercepted, US official says

Multiple rockets shot at Kabul airport have been intercepted by a missile defence system, a US official has said.

Up to five rockets were fired on Monday morning, the official told Reuters.

The official added initial reports did not suggest any US casualties but information could change.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed U.S President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation.

"The president was informed that operations continue uninterrupted at Hamid Karzai International Airport and has reconfirmed his order that commanders redouble their efforts to prioritise doing whatever is necessary to protect our forces on the ground," Ms Psaki said in a statement.

Smoke rises from a deadly explosion outside the airport in Kabul (Wali Sabawoon/AP) (AP)

Officials had previously stated ISIS-K militants were looking to target the airport with rockets.

"We know that they [ISIS-K] would like to lob a rocket in there, if they could," General Frank McKenzie head of US Central Command, told reporters in Washington last week.

"Now we actually have pretty good protection against that. We have our anti-rocket and mortar system."

On Saturday, President Biden said the situation on the ground remained critical.

He revealed his military chiefs had told him another militant attack was possible within the next 24-36 hours.

On Sunday, American forces launched a drone strike in Kabul targeting a suicide bomber in a vehicle who was aiming to attack the airport.

It came after 13 American troops were killed in a suicide bomb attack on Thursday by the Islamic State group’s ISIS-K.

The killed service people, who were on their way home to the United States, were named: US army Navy corpsman Max Soviak, Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss, and Marines Hunter Lopez, Rylee McCollum, David Lee Espinoza, Kareem Nikoui, Jared Schmitz, Daegan Page, Taylor Hoover, Humberto Sanchez, Johanny Rosario, Dylan Merola and Nicole Gee.

In the attack, 92 Britons and 169 Afghans were also killed.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.