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Taliban say they targeted Mattis' plane

The Taliban are saying that they specifically targeted the plane of the US secretary of defense, Jim Mattis, in an attack earlier in the day on the Kabul airport.

 

According to Afghan officials, the insurgents fired up to about six projectiles at and near the airport, with one hitting a civilian house nearby on Wednesday.

 

Mattis and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg were not at the airport at the time but were meeting in Kabul with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

 

Mattis' plane was not damaged in the attack, which prompted a shootout with the insurgents. Najib Danish, spokesman for the Afghan interior minister, said "three terrorists were killed by the Afghan security forces" before the exchange was over. He said 11 Afghan civilians were also wounded.

 

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet that the "military section of the Kabul airport was hit with missiles; target was plane of US Defense Secretary Mattis" and that "losses (were) caused" in the attack.

 

Ghani said during a joint press conference with Mattis and Stoltenberg that Afghan special forces troops quickly brought the attack under control. Mattis called the attack a crime.

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.27.17, 18:37