Rockets fired at Kabul airport in waning hours of US pullout

By KATHY GANNON, TAMEEM AKHGAR and JOSEPH KRAUSS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Islamic State militants fired a volley of rockets astatine Kabul’s rapidly emptying planetary airdrome connected Monday, with conscionable hours near earlier a deadline for U.S. forces to retreat astatine the extremity of America’s longest war.

The Pentagon is tight-lipped astir last operations and has not specified erstwhile the withdrawal volition beryllium completed up of Tuesday’s deadline. But spokesperson John Kirby told reporters “there is inactive time” for Americans to articulation a monolithic airlift that has allowed much than 116,000 radical to permission since the Taliban swept backmost into powerfulness 2 weeks ago.

All time Monday, U.S. subject cargo jets came and went contempt the rocket attack, which did not wounded anyone. The Taliban released a video changeable from the airport’s grounds, saying the Americans had removed oregon destroyed astir of their instrumentality and that unit numbers were acold lower. “It looks similar contiguous volition beryllium the past day,” 1 of the unidentified fighters said.

With the departure of the past of its troops, the U.S. is ending its 20-year warfare with the Taliban backmost successful power. Many Afghans stay fearful of them oregon further instability, and determination person been sporadic reports of killings and different abuses successful areas nether Taliban power contempt pledges to reconstruct bid and security.

In the past 24 hours, the American subject evacuated astir 1,200 radical connected 26 C-17 flights, portion 2 conjugation flights flew retired 50 others, the White House said.

The two-week airlift has brought scenes of desperation and horror. In the aboriginal days, radical hopeless to fly Taliban regularisation flooded onto the tarmac and immoderate fell to their deaths aft clinging to a departing aircraft. On Thursday, an Islamic State termination onslaught astatine an airdrome gross killed astatine slightest 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. work members.

The extremist radical is acold much extremist than the Taliban, who captured astir of Afghanistan successful a substance of days. The 2 groups person fought each different before, and the Taliban person pledged to not harbor violent groups.

The Taliban tightened their information cordon astir the airdrome aft the attack, clearing distant monolithic crowds of Afghans who were hopeless to fly the state successful the waning days of the U.S.-led airlift. Taliban fighters are present stationed on a obstruction adjacent the main runway.

A assemblage rapidly gathered Monday astir the remains of a four-door sedan utilized successful the rocket attack. The car had what appeared to beryllium six homemade rocket tubes mounted successful spot of its backmost seats.

“I was wrong the location with my children and different household members. Suddenly determination were immoderate blasts,” said Jaiuddin Khan, who lives nearby. “We jumped into the location compound and laic connected the ground.”

Some of the rockets landed crossed town, striking residential flat blocks, witnesses said. That vicinity is astir 3 kilometers (under 2 miles) from the airport. No injuries were reported.

Five rockets targeted the airport, said Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a U.S. subject spokesman. A antiaircraft limb known arsenic a C-RAM — a Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System — targeted the rockets successful a whirling hail of ammunition, helium said. The strategy has a distinct, drill-like dependable that echoed done the metropolis astatine the clip of the attack.

An IS statement, carried by the group’s Amaq media outlet, claimed the militants fired six rockets.

The White House said President Joe Biden was briefed connected the rocket attack.

“The president was informed that operations proceed uninterrupted astatine HKIA, and has reconfirmed his bid that commanders redouble their efforts to prioritize doing immoderate is indispensable to support our forces connected the ground,” the connection said, utilizing an acronym for Kabul’s airport.

Planes took disconnected astir each 20 minutes astatine 1 constituent Monday morning. One C-17 landing successful the day changeable disconnected flares arsenic it approached — a maneuver to support against heat-seeking missiles and a motion the U.S. subject remains acrophobic astir surface-to-air missiles escaped successful the country.

Smoke from respective fires on the airport’s perimeter could beryllium seen. It wasn’t wide what was ablaze, though U.S. forces typically destruct worldly and instrumentality they don’t instrumentality with them.

The airdrome had been 1 of the fewer ways retired for foreigners and Afghans fleeing the Taliban. However, conjugation nations person halted their evacuations successful caller days, leaving the U.S. subject mostly unsocial determination with immoderate remaining allied Afghan forces.

The U.S. State Department released a connection Sunday signed by astir 100 countries, arsenic good arsenic NATO and the European Union, saying they had received “assurances” from the Taliban that radical with question documents would inactive beryllium capable to leave.

The Taliban person said they volition let mean question aft the U.S. withdrawal is completed connected Tuesday and they instrumentality power of the airport. However, it is unclear however the militants volition tally the airdrome and which commercialized carriers volition statesman flying in, fixed the ongoing information concerns.

Qatar confirmed to The Associated Press connected Monday that the Gulf state has been taking portion successful negotiations astir operations astatine the airdrome with Afghan and planetary parties, chiefly the U.S. and Turkey. Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwa al-Khater said its main precedence is restoring regular operations portion maintaining information astatine the airport. Qatar is simply a U.S. state that has agelong hosted a Taliban governmental office.

The Taliban person honored a pledge not to onslaught Western forces truthful agelong arsenic they evacuate by Tuesday, but IS remains a threat.

The U.S. carried retired a drone onslaught Saturday that it said killed 2 IS members. On Sunday, a U.S. drone onslaught blew up a conveyance carrying IS termination bombers earlier they could onslaught the airport, American officials said.

However, the Taliban said the latest onslaught killed astatine slightest 10 radical — including civilians and 3 children, sparking anger.

Urban, the subject spokesman, acknowledged the reports of civilian casualties.

“We would beryllium profoundly saddened by immoderate imaginable nonaccomplishment of guiltless life,” helium said successful a statement.

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Akhgar reported from Istanbul and Krauss from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell successful Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Rahim Faiez successful Istanbul, Munir Ahmed successful Islamabad, Samy Magdy successful Cairo, Joseph Krauss successful Jerusalem and Robert Burns and Lou Kesten successful Washington contributed.