After a US drone strike hit an explosive-laden car in Kabul, as many as five rockets were fired at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday morning, as the United States rushed to complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The rockets were fired towards the airport with smoke rising near the area, reports say. According to Reuters, the rockets were intercepted by the US defense system. There have been no American casualties yet.
Civilian Vehicle Used in Rocket Attack
A civilian vehicle was apparently used as an improvised platform in the rocket attack. Video obtained by CNN showed the vehicle in flames on a street in Kabul's Khair Khana neighborhood after the rockets were fired.
The incinerated remnants of the car are covered with debris, the glass missing from all windows and rubber melted from the tires. The car appears to have been modified, with six large tubes visible inside the charred skeleton, reported CNN.
ISIS-K Behind the Recent Rocket Attacks?
It wasn't immediately clear who launched them, the Associated Press reported. However, the US official told CNN that the rockets aimed at the airport were likely launched by ISIS-K, but cautioned it was too early to know for sure.
On Sunday evening the US military had carried out an "unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike" in Kabul targeting a car which it said was full of explosives.
The military said it had eliminated an imminent ISIS-K threat to Hamid Karzai International airport. The incident was confirmed by the Taliban.
US President Joe Biden earlier said his military commanders informed him that another attack in Afghanistan is "highly likely in the next 24-36 hours.
The White House Confirmed the Rocket Attack
The White House confirmed the attack and said operations continue to remain uninterrupted at the airport. Press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden has been briefed.
Psaki said: "The president was informed that operations continue uninterrupted at (Kabul airport) HKIA, and has reconfirmed his order that commanders redouble their efforts to prioritise doing whatever is necessary to protect our forces on the ground."
Meanwhile, US and allied forces are set to complete their own withdrawal by Tuesday, after having evacuated about 114,400 people--including foreign nationals and "at risk" Afghans.
