Six rockets land near Kabul airport after Mattis arrives

Kabul, September 27

Six rockets landed near Kabul’s international airport today after US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis flew to the Afghan capital for talks, an official said.

The volley of missiles struck near the military section of the airport but there were no casualties or immediate claim of responsibility, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP.

Police have cordoned off the area to find the exact location from which the rockets were fired, he said, adding that no flights were cancelled.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for several explosions that targeted the area in and around Kabul airport, the group’s AMAQ news agency said.

The news agency said “infiltrators” used SPG-9 rockets and mortars for the attack.

The attack came hours after Mattis arrived in the Afghan capital, the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the war-torn country since his pledge to stay the course in America’s longest war.