Samuel Case, FISM News

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The threat of terrorism remains high in Afghanistan, as a U.S. missile defense system shot down 5 rockets aimed at the Kabul airport Monday morning, Officials are warning that the possibility of future terrorist attacks is high. No casualties were reported at the time of the strike. 

Afghan media reports that Monday morning’s rocket attack was launched from the back of a vehicle. Meanwhile, it was reported that other rockets hit different parts of Kabul as well. The perpetrator of the rocket attack is still unknown, but according to a Reuters report ISIS has claimed responsibility.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki released a brief statement on the attack: 

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chief of Staff Ron Klain have briefed the President on the rocket attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport. 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.

This comes as over the weekend the US carried out two drone attacks. A strike on Friday reportedly killed two ISIS members behind the tragic suicide bombing attacks, and a strike on Sunday destroyed a car carrying explosives near the Kabul airport. 

The Taliban claim Sunday’s strike also killed 10 Afghan civilians. U.S. Central Intelligence released a statement on Sunday saying they were investigating the possibility of civilian casualties. “We know that there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties,” the statement said.

Despite the increasing danger President Biden remains determined to pull out all U.S. troops by his self-imposed Tuesday deadline. FISM News reports that 350 U.S. citizens and all U.S. troops are still scheduled to be evacuated from the country by Tuesday, however, there are still tens of thousands of Afghan allies who remain stranded. Since August 14 the United States has, with the help of international partners, evacuated over 114,000 people including thousands of Afghanistan natives and 5,400 U.S. citizens.