The Pentagon on Monday said an ISIS-K rocket made it through U.S. missile defense systems and landed inside Kabul airport at a time when A...
The Pentagon on Monday said an ISIS-K rocket made it through U.S. missile defense systems and landed inside Kabul airport at a time when American forces remain on high alert for more attacks.
Officials said it was one of five launched by terrorists but it landed without causing harm.
During a briefing, the Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said there remained an 'active' threat to U.S. personnel and that officials were investigating reports that children were killed in a drone strike on Sunday.
Army Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor told reporters that C-RAM defense systems took down one of the rockets fired on Monday morning.
'We assessed that five rockets were in the air and went,' he told reporters.
'Three landed off the airfield ... were no effect.
'C-RAM was able to affect and thwart the attack. The one or the other rocket landed with no effect to the mission or any danger to our personnel.'
He later clarified that one rocket landed inside the airport perimeter
'The force protection C-RAM did work, it did engage and had effect on the one, and then one did land in an area ... and it was not effective,' he said.
Army Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor (l) told reporters on Monday that one ISIS-K missile made it through defense systems to land at Kabul airport while Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said officials were investigating reports of civilian casualties after a U.S. drone strike in Kabul
Journalists take photos of a vehicle damaged by a rocket attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. Rockets struck a neighborhood near Kabul's international airport on Monday amid the ongoing U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
A military aircraft takes off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, after an early morning rocket attack claimed by the Islamic State
The C-RAM system is able to fire thousands of self-destructing rounds into the air when an incoming missile, rocket or mortar is detected.
The Islamic state claimed responsibility for the rocket attack on behalf of its Afghan affiliate ISIS-K.
It comes during one of the most dangerous periods of the evacuation, with U.S. forces withdrawing from the airport ahead of President Biden's August 31 deadline.
'There were rocket attacks, indirect fire rocket attacks on the airport so the threat stream is still real it's still active, and in many cases it's still specific and we're taking it very seriously and we will right up until the end,' said Kirby.
He was asked about casualties from a Sunday drone strike that officials said hit a vehicle carrying ISIS-K suicide bombers.
A number of news organizations have quoted locals describing how seven children, including a two-year-old, died in the attack. In all 10 civilians were reported dead, all from the same extended family.
Kirby was asked whether reports of civilian casualties in Kabul and from an earlier strike in Nangahar province were accurate.
'We are not in a position to dispute it right now,' he said.
He added that investigations had begun.
'Make no mistake, no military on the face of the earth works harder to avoid civilian casualties, then the United States military,' he said.
'And nobody wants to see innocent life taken.
'We take it very, very seriously, and, and when we know that we have caused innocent life to be lost in the conduct of our operations, we're transparent about it.'
Locals said 10 civilians died when a U.S. drone strike hit a vehicle in Kabul. The Pentagon said it was targeting suicide bombers but was investigating the reports of civilian deaths
Monday's rocket strike is just the latest in a string of attacks on Kabul airport as the US enters the final phase of its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan
The danger to U.S. troops was on full display on Sunday, as the bodies of 13 service members killed in a suicide bomb attack last week were repatriated to Dover Air Force Base
He promised that the Pentagon would be open in this case too.
'If we have some verifiable information that we did in fact take innocent life here then we'll be transparent about that too,' he said.
Officials previously said they killed one to three men wearing suicide belts.
'We are confident we successfully hit the target, said a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, Capt. Bill Urban.
But reports of civilian deaths revive memories of drone campaigns around the world that frequently raised questions about civilian casualties, human rights and whether they might turn locals against against the U.S.
Meanwhile in Washington, the White House issued a statement saying officials briefed President Joe Biden on the rocket attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
'The president was informed that operations continue uninterrupted at HKIA, and has reconfirmed his order that commanders redouble their efforts to prioritize doing whatever is necessary to protect our forces on the ground,' the statement said.
The group of countries that banded together to fight the Islamic State promised to continue the fight against the local affiliate, known as ISIS-Khorasan.
'To that end, we are focused on leveraging the Coalition’s expertise and the efforts of its working groups to counter Daesh/ISIS’ global branches, including Daesh/ISIS-Khorasan, and to identify and bring their members to justice,' said the the group in a statement released by the State Department.
On Saturday, an American drone strike hit a tuk-tuk carrying two suspected ISIS-K members in the northern city of Jalalabad on Saturday, who the US said was responsible for the suicide bombing on the airport.
Aside from the thousands of American troops who still need to be evacuated from the airport, some 300 US citizens are also waiting to be flown out according to Secretary of State Andrew Blinken.
He warned that 'this is the most dangerous time in an already extraordinarily dangerous mission,' during an interview with ABC's This Week.
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