Rockets target Kabul airport as final US withdrawal begins

KABUL • US anti-missile defences intercepted as many as five rockets fired at Kabul's airport yesterday, an official said, as the United States flew its core diplomats out of Afghanistan in the final hours of its chaotic withdrawal.

A US official said initial reports did not indicate any American casualties from at least five missiles fired on the airport yesterday morning. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's Nasher News said.

The attack followed a huge ISIS suicide bombing outside the airport gates last Thursday that killed scores of Afghans and 13 US troops, and another reported attempted bombing on Sunday.

US troops are due to pull out of Kabul by today's deadline, after mounting the biggest air evacuation in history, taking out 120,000 people, mostly Afghans who helped them over 20 years of war. US officials said "core" diplomatic staff left yesterday. Top envoy Ross Wilson is expected to be among the last to leave before the troops themselves.

President Joe Biden reconfirmed his order for commanders to do "whatever is necessary to protect our forces on the ground" after he was briefed on yesterday's rocket fire, the White House said. He was told airport operations continued uninterrupted, it added.

On Sunday, Pentagon officials said a US drone strike killed a suicide car bomber who had been preparing to attack the airport on behalf of ISIS-Khorasan, a local affiliate of ISIS that is an enemy of both the West and the Taliban.

US Central Command said it was investigating if civilians were killed. "We know there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties," it said.

The drone attack killed seven people, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told China's state television CGTN, criticising the US action on foreign soil as unlawful. It was the second such condemnation after a US drone strike on Saturday killed two ISIS militants in the eastern Nangarhar province.

Afghans fearful of reprisals under Taliban rule continued to crowd the airport, appealing to foreign powers for a way out.

"We are in danger," said one woman outside the airport. "They must show us a way to be saved. We must leave Afghanistan or they must provide a safe place for us."

Two US officials said evacuations would continue, prioritising people deemed at extreme risk. Other countries also put in last-minute requests to bring out people in that category, the officials said.

The Taliban will take full control of Kabul airport after the American withdrawal today, Qatar's Al-Jazeera television network said, citing an unidentified Taliban source.

As the evacuations wind down, a "far greater humanitarian crisis" looms ahead for the nation of 39 million people, the United Nations' refugee agency warned.

Agency chief Filippo Grandi reiterated a call for borders to remain open and for more countries to share the "humanitarian responsibility" of accepting refugees with Iran and Pakistan, which already host 2.2 million Afghans.

Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has said the Taliban will announce a full Cabinet in the coming days, and that difficulties will subside quickly once the new administration is in place. But the economy has been shattered by decades of war, with the added burden of a drought and the pandemic, and now faces a sudden halt in inflows of billions of dollars in foreign aid.

Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call on Sunday that the international community should engage with the new Taliban rulers and "positively guide" them, China's Foreign Ministry said.

Washington should work with the international community to provide economic and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, help the new regime run governmental functions normally, maintain social stability, and stop the currency from depreciating and the cost of living from rising, Mr Wang said.

"While respecting the sovereignty of Afghanistan, the US should take concrete action to help Afghanistan fight terrorism and stop violence, rather than playing double standards or fighting terrorism selectively," he said, warning that the US' hasty withdrawal could allow terrorist groups to "regroup and come back stronger".

Chinese state TV said the call was made at the invitation of Washington.

REUTERS