Taliban fighters struck Kandahar airport in southern Afghanistan with at least three rockets overnight, the insurgent group's spokesperson said on Sunday, adding that the aim was to thwart air strikes conducted by Afghan government forces.
“Kandahar airport was targeted by us because the enemy was using it as a centre to conduct air strikes against us,” Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, told Reuters.
Afghan government officials said the rocket attacks forced authorities to suspend all flights and that the runway was partially damaged. There were no immediate reports of casualties, they said.
Officials said the Taliban see Kandahar as a major strategic point, which they seem to be using as a control centre for gaining complete dominance over five other provinces.
Clashes between Afghan forces and Taliban fighters have intensified in the cities of Kandahar and neighbouring Helmand province.
In the west, Afghan officials said Taliban commanders were swiftly gaining control of strategic buildings around Herat city, forcing civilians to remain in their homes.
The Taliban have been advancing in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American and Nato troops from the country and in recent weeks the fundamentalist group said they have captured over half of all Afghanistan's territory, including border crossings with Iran and Pakistan.
A key airport in southern Afghanistan has come under rocket fire as government forces struggle against Taliban assaults on several major cities.
Flights out of Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest city, were halted after three rockets fired by the Taliban struck the airport on Sunday before dawn.Airport chief Massoud Pashtun said two of those rockets hit the runway and repairs were under way. An official at the civil aviation authority in the capital, Kabul confirmed the attack.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, the officials said.“Kandahar airport was targeted by us because the enemy were using it as a centre to conduct air strikes against us,” Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, told Reuters news agency.
The facility is vital to providing the logistical and air support needed to keep the Taliban from overrunning the city, while also providing aerial cover for large tracts of southern Afghanistan.
‘Incredibly tense’
Fighting has surged in the months since early May when US-led foreign forces began a final withdrawal from Afghanistan that is now almost complete.
After seizing large tracts of rural territory and capturing key border crossings, the Taliban has now started to besiege provincial capitals.
