Kabul Airport Attack Neutralized by Afghan Forces

According to officials of the Afghanistan Interior Ministry, the coordinated attack on the Kabul international airport by armed men numbering seven has been neutralized by Afghan forces on Monday.

The attack, which Taliban had earlier claimed responsibility, was aimed at the Kabul international airport, which is also housing a NATO-run military base. However, the Taliban insurgents took up positions in a building that was under construction.  

Although, it began in the wee hours of the morning around 4.30am local time on Monday, exchanges of gunfire continued for hours, with explosions erupting from the airport.

Correspondents of several news outlets were at the scene of the incident, with comments indicating that the Afghan forces took control of the situation gallantly without international intervention.

Chief of Kabul police Mohammad Ayoub Salangi said, “There were seven assailants…two died detonating their explosives and five others were killed in fighting.”

He added that there were no civilian or military casualties.

There were reports indicating that the American Embassy sounded its “duck-and-cover” alarm while sounding a warning through loudspeakers that the alarm was not a drill. Similarly, the British Embassy sounded their alarms.

All national and international flights had been cancelled, according to Yacoub Rasul, general manager of Kabul international airport.

Only last month, there was an intense gunfight between Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents for hours in Kabul after a big explosion rocked the city.

It will be recalled that the Taliban had initially launched a “spring offensive” in April, which was targeted at diplomatic areas, foreign troops, and military bases in Afghanistan.