ISLAMABAD — Officials in southern Afghanistan confirmed Sunday that an overnight rocket attack by Taliban insurgents damaged t
ISLAMABAD — Officials in southern Afghanistan confirmed Sunday that an overnight rocket attack by Taliban insurgents damaged the runway at Kandahar Airport, forcing suspension of all flights. The attack occurred during ongoing fierce clashes between Afghan security forces and the Taliban in Kandahar and the adjoining city of Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province. Afghan authorities said several rockets struck the airport and all flights out of the country’s second-largest city have been halted until the runway is repaired. «We targeted the Kandahar airport and damaged the runway along with other facilities there,» Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told VOA. «Fighter aircraft were actively using it for launching strikes [against us] and civilian homes in the area. They also bombed and destroyed a hospital in Helmand yesterday,» Mujahid said. Dr. Mohammad Din Narewal, the owner of the private hospital in Lashkar Gah confirmed that the Afghan air force bombed the facility on Saturday, killing one person and injuring three others. Narewal said the facility was targeted because Afghan security forces mistakenly believed Taliban fighters were under treatment there. Most of Helmand’s districts are under the control of the Taliban. The Taliban have in recent days staged major assaults on Kandahar, Lashkar Gah and Herat, capital of the western province of the same name. The Taliban on Saturday apparently came close to taking control of Lashkar Gah and Herat, but government officials said arrival of reinforcements enabled Afghan forces to push back the insurgents.
