As many as five rockets were launched at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday local time, a US official informed CNN.
“The C-RAM defense system installed at the airport engaged with the rockets,” the official said. There are no reports of any casualties as of this time.
C-RAM (counter rocket, artillery, and mortar) is an automated system that ascertains incoming attacks and uses a machine gun to destroy the incoming fire before it can hit its target.
The system has been used in Iraq and Afghanistan to intercept and destroy incoming projectiles targeting US forces.
According to the US official, the rockets that were aimed at the airport were most likely launched by ISIS-K but also said that it was too early to know for sure.
CNN obtained a video that showed a civilian vehicle in flames right after the attack. According to reports, the vehicle was apparently used as an improvised platform to launch the rockets. The car looked to be modified with six large tubes visible inside the charred vehicle.
Reports say that a witness Zia ud Din, a potato-chip seller whose house was next to where the car was parked, heard the bang of the rockets launching.
“There were a few big bangs, we all were inside the house — the whole family — when we heard the loud bangs, we ran into the garden, everything caught fire,” he said. “Fortunately, no one was killed or injured.”
Statements from eyewitnesses say that one of the rockets hit a nearby building. The rocket impact is visible on the establishment however, Taliban fighters and eyewitnesses say there are no casualties in the building.
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Attacks One After the Other
The rocket strikes came just days after two suicide bomb attacks at the airport which killed more than 170 people, including 13 American service members.
Reports also showed that at least 200 people were wounded in the attack that happened on Thursday.
ISIS in Khorasan, better known as ISIS-K said that an ISIS militant executed the attack but there was no evidence to support the claim.
On Saturday, US President Joe Biden warned that another terrorist attack on the airport was “highly likely in the next 24-36 hours,” citing US military commanders.
On Sunday, US forces launched a drone strike targeting suspected ISIS-K militants, the second strike in three days.
Though the US initially said there were no indications of civilian casualties, the military acknowledged reports of casualties later on Sunday.
Casualties reported during the drone strike include nine members of one family — including six children, the youngest only 2 years old. A relative told CNN that they were killed during the drone strike that targeted a vehicle in Kabul.
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Evacuation Operation
US Forces are racing against time to complete their evacuation operation from Afghanistan before the deadline on Tuesday – the deadline to withdraw all US troops before facing another impending attack in the airport.
The US government has been faced with calls both internationally and internally to extend the deadline, but US President Joe Biden is firm on finishing the evacuation operations by the end of the month.
According to a White House official on Sunday, the US has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of about 114,400 people from Afghanistan since August 13.
Earlier Monday, Kabul residents said they had heard a blast in the early hours of the morning, though there was no clear indication of the kind of explosion or any official confirmation of the source of the blast.
US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the rocket attack, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki in a statement.
Psaki added that Biden was informed “operations continue uninterrupted” at the airport, as Tuesday’s deadline approaches.
