Rockets hit near Kabul airport amidst Mattis Afghanistan arrival
NATO's Resolute Support mission said investigation into the attack and malfunctioning has begun
KABUL (Reuters/AFP) - A US airstrike on insurgents in Kabul Wednesday caused "several casualties" after a missile "malfunctioned", NATO said, as US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visits the war-torn country.
"An investigation into the attack and the malfunctioning ammunition has begun," NATO s Resolute Support mission said in a statement.
Arriving from India, where he sought support for the U.S. administration’s new South Asia security plan, Mattis said the United States was determined not to allow “a merciless enemy to kill its way to power”.
Promising a more “holistic” approach without fixed timetables and involving other countries in the region, including Pakistan, he said the Taliban would have to learn they could not defeat the government.
“I want to reinforce to the Taliban that the only path to peace and political legitimacy for them is through a negotiated settlement,” Mattis told a joint news conference with Ghani and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Standing alongside him, Ghani said his government “remains open to talks with the Taliban” as well as a peace strategy involving Pakistan.
