IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Gunmen Attack Kabul Airport, Fire on Jets

The gunmen are surrounded after they occupied two buildings and fired rockets at jets. The attack comes amid a disputed presidential election.
Image: Video still shows Afghan security personnel on vehicles as an area near the Kabul airport comes under attack
Afghan security personnel are seen on vehicles as an area near the Kabul airport comes under attack, in this still image taken from a Reuters TV video in Kabul July 17. REUTERS TV

Gunmen used rockets to attack the Kabul International Airport in the Afghan capital Thursday, a senior military official said.

The gunmen occupied two buildings, which were under construction, 700 yards north of the airport, and were using them as a base to fire rockets and gunfire toward the airport and ISAF jet fighters flying over Kabul, said Afzal Aman, a general in the Afghan army in Kabul. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a call to The Associated Press, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Aman said several rockets hit the airport but no planes had been damaged so far. He said two attackers had been killed by Afghan forces. Aman said the fighting was going on and that the gunmen had been surrounded by Afghan forces. Alarms had also sounded at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, as they usually do when there is an attack in the city. ISAF jet fighters were also patrolling over the city.

Image: Afghan Police secure the surroundings of Kabul International Airport during a gun battle with suspected militants
Afghan Police secure the surroundings of Kabul International Airport during a gun battle with suspected militants, in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 17.JAWAD JALALI / EPA

IN-DEPTH

— The Associated Press