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Rockets fired at major US airbase in Afghanistan: Officials

Saturday, 19 December 2020 11:10 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 19 December 2020 11:32 AM ]

A view of Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan

Afghan officials say Bagram Airfield, the largest US military base in Afghanistan, has come under a rocket attack, with reports falling short of providing details on possible casualties in the incident.

Five rockets were fired at the base in the central Afghan province of Parwan early on Saturday, according to Waheeda Shahkar, spokeswoman for the provincial governor.

Shahkar said 12 rockets had been mounted on a truck and five of them were fired at the base from Qalandar Khel area in Parwan, while police defused the other seven.

The rocket attack was also confirmed by a NATO official saying, "Rockets were fired towards Bagram Airfield this morning. Initial reporting is there were no casualties and the airfield was not damaged."

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the assault, but the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group previously conducted a similar rocket attack on the American base in April.

Major US airbase in Afghanistan comes under Daesh attack: NATO

US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan say five rockets have hit a major American airbase in the country and that the attack, claimed by the Daesh terrorist group, left no casualties.

The terror outfit, which has based itself mainly in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar Province, has an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 militants and has been behind a string of horrific bombing and other attacks since its emergence in the country in 2015.

Afghanistan has been gripped by insecurity since the US and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington's so-called war on terror in 2001. Many parts of the country remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.

The latest violence comes as the Taliban and the Afghan government, the two sides involved in the Afghan peace process, are taking a break until January 5, after reaching a preliminary agreement this month.

Afghan government, Taliban set to resume peace negotiations in January

Negotiators from both sides announced a pause in the talks until January 5.

The preliminary deal is the first written agreement between the two warring sides since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The intra-Afghan negotiations had been set to take place in March, but were repeatedly delayed over a prisoner exchange made as part of a deal between the Taliban and the United States.

Under that deal, signed in February, the Taliban agreed to halt their attacks on international forces in return for the US military's phased withdrawal from Afghanistan and the prisoner exchange with Kabul.

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