JAKARTA - Five rockets fired at Kabul's international airport were intercepted by a missile defense system, a US official told Reuters, as the United States nears a full withdrawal of its troops from the city.
Citing Reuters Monday August 30, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the rockets were fired early Monday morning Kabul time, although it was not clear whether all of them were dropped by the defense system.
"Initial reports did not indicate any US casualties, but that information is subject to change," the official said.
As reported by CNN, the C-RAM defense system installed at the airport intercepted the fired rockets, with no reports of casualties at this time.
C-RAM is an automated system that detects incoming attacks and uses a machine gun to destroy incoming fire before it can hit its target. This system has been used in Iraq and Afghanistan to intercept and destroy incoming projectiles targeting US troops.
Earlier on Sunday, American forces launched a drone strike in Kabul targeting a suicide bomber in a vehicle aiming to attack the airport.
There are growing fears that ISIS Khorasan (ISIS-K) militants will launch further attacks on the airport, as US forces rush to evacuate remaining Americans and Afghans at risk, before competing with their own withdrawal on August 31.
Meanwhile, officials have warned ISIS-K militants want to target Kabul airport with rockets. However, the United States has experience in countering such rockets, especially in Iraq and has installed missile defense systems.
"We know that they (ISIS-K) want to launch rockets there, if they can," General Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), told reporters in Washington last week.
"Now we actually have pretty good protection against that. We have our anti-rocket and mortar system," McKenzie continued.
There are greater concerns about suicide bombers and car bombs hitting airports, after Thursday's suicide bombings that killed scores of Afghans and 13 US service members.
Meanwhile on Saturday, US President Joe Biden said the situation on the ground remained extremely dangerous, and his army chiefs had warned another militant attack was likely in the next 24-36 hours.
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