Afghanistan: Three rockets launched at Presidential Palace during Eid prayers

Three rocket attacks took place near the Afghanistan Presidential Palace on Tuesday morning during Eid-al-Adha prayers, Afghanistan media reported. As per ToloNews, the attacks took place when President Ashraf Ghani and other politicians and officials were offering their Eid prayers in the capital city of Kabul to mark the holiday. The attack comes after a 'breakthrough' was reported between the Afghan government and the Taliban. The two sides had issued a joint statement and had agreed to prevent civilian casualties and protect the country’s civilian infrastructure.

The visuals of the attacks were captured by local media which showed officials commencing prayer gathering inside the compound against the backdrop of lockdown explosions. 

Attack on Afghanistan Presidential Palace

Local news reported that the rockets were fired from Parwan-e-Se area in Kabul’s District 18 in the north of the city. The rockets landed in the Bagh-e-Ali Mardan and Chaman-e-Hozori areas in Kabul’s District 1 and Manabe Bashari area in Kabul’s District 2 near the Presidential Palace.

Speaking to ToloNews, Mirwais Stanekzai, a spokesman for the MoI, reported that the first rocket hit close to the Edgar mosque, the second one landed close to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the third one landed in the Chaman-e-Hozori area of the city. Fortunately, no injuries were reported since the rockets landed right outside the heavily fortified palace grounds. The Taliban has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Afghanistan Presidential Palace lies in a highly-fortified 'green zone' protected with giant cement walls and barbed wires. Unlike previous times, the Taliban has not announced a ceasefire for Eid this year.

With the US troops' exit from Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years, the Taliban moved swiftly to take over Afghanistan claiming control over 85 percent of the Afghan territory. As per reports, the Taliban has claimed control over 150-180 districts in the country including large swathes of territory near border areas with Iran, China, and Pakistan. After gaining significant control, the Taliban has announced that it was willing to follow a ceasefire if 7,000 militants that have been imprisoned in Afghanistan are released.