ISIS claims rocket attack on Kabul airport as US troops pull out
The ISIS group claimed a rocket attack on Kabul airport on Monday, as US troops raced to complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan and evacuate allies under the threat of further violence, NDTV reported.
US President Joe Biden has set a deadline of Tuesday to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan, drawing to a close his nation's longest military conflict, which began in retaliation for the September 11 attacks.
The return of the hardline Islamist Taliban movement, which was toppled in 2001 but took back power a fortnight ago, triggered an exodus of terrified people aboard US-led evacuation flights.
US forces are now focused chiefly on flying themselves and American diplomats out safely.
The regional ISIS-K group, rivals of the Taliban, pose the biggest threat to the withdrawal, after carrying out a suicide bombing outside the airport late last week that claimed more than 100 lives, including those of 13 US troops. Then on Monday, they claimed to have fired six rockets at the airport. A Taliban official said the attack was intercepted by the airport's missile defence systems.