The jihadist group Islamic State in Khorasan (EI-K) claimed responsibility for the rocket attack on Kabul airport, which took place on Monday, on the eve of the planned departure of the US army in Afghanistan. “Caliphate soldiers targeted Kabul International Airport with six rockets,” the group said in a statement. A Taliban official at the scene said five rockets were fired and intercepted by the airport’s missile defense system. The rocket attack was claimed by the Afghanistan affiliate of the so-called Islamic State. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was hurt.
In a statement, the White House said that “operations continue uninterrupted” at Kabul airport. Planes took off roughly every 20 minutes at one point Monday morning.
On Sunday, a US drone strike blew up a vehicle carrying “multiple suicide bombers” from Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate before they could attack the ongoing military evacuation at Kabul’s international airport, American officials said.
The US is to withdraw from Afghanistan by Tuesday. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is to hold a virtual ministerial meeting with key partners on Monday at 20:30 CEST.
About 114,400 people including nearly 5,500 American citizens have been evacuated from Afghanistan by a gigantic airlift since August 14.
In a statement released on Sunday, the US and 98 other countries including most European Union member states said they “remained committed to ensuring that our citizens, nationals, residents, employees, Afghans who have worked for us and those who are at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan. “
“We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorization from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country,” they added. The signatories of the statements also include NATO and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security.
