A rocket attack was launched in central Kabul near the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attack. It was the first major terrorist attack in Kabul since President Donald Trump announced that negotiations with the Taliban are “dead.”
Embassy employees were initially told the rocket exploded somewhere on the compound. No injuries were reported. The nearby NATO office also reported no injuries.
Some reports indicate the Afghan Defense Ministry was the likely target of the rocket attack. A spokesman for the Ministry said the rocket “hit a wall” of the complex but did not cause any injuries. A sizable plume of smoke was seen rising over the city after the blast.
The Taliban promised renewed violence after President Trump canceled negotiations, a declaration that would have been more meaningful if it had ever stopped carrying out terrorist attacks. The death of an American soldier from a car bomb attack last week was a major reason for ending negotiations. The Taliban has insisted it will not negotiate with the legitimate government of Afghanistan until U.S. troops are completely withdrawn from the country.