Rockets Hit Kabul Airport After Mattis Arrives On Unannounced Visit

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Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, seen here at right speaking with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, arrived in Kabul on Wednesday. A rocket attack targeted Kabul’s main airport on the same day.

Rahmat Gul/AP


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Rahmat Gul/AP

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, seen here at right speaking with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, arrived in Kabul on Wednesday. A rocket attack targeted Kabul’s main airport on the same day.

Rahmat Gul/AP

Hours after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Kabul for an unannounced visit Wednesday, militant fighters fired several rockets that exploded at or near Hamid Karzai International Airport. No injuries have been reported.

Mattis is visiting Afghanistan along with NATO Secretary-General Stoletenberg, to discuss security plans and training in the country.

NPR’s Tom Bowman is traveling with Mattis; he reports:

“Mattis said he would not abandon Afghanistan to what he called a merciless enemy that tried to kill its way to power. He said the only way ahead for the Taliban is a negotiated settlement.

“A new strategy announced by President Trump calls for some 4,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan to train Afghan forces; Mattis said the U.S. would work to expand the Afghan air force and special forces. Just before Mattis spoke, rockets slammed into the military section of Kabul airport.”

Both ISIS and the Taliban have claimed the attack, according to multiple reports.

Article source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/27/553937909/rockets-hit-kabul-airport-after-mattis-arrives-on-unannounced-visit?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news

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