Attack by Taliban militants who stormed the airport complex in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar city on Tuesday, triggering gunfights and explosions as a conference kicked off in Pakistan with hopes of reviving peace talks with the insurgents.
As many as 14 militants broke through a gate Tuesday evening and barricaded themselves inside a school within the Kandahar international airport complex and began shooting at Afghan forces, said Samim Ekhpelwak, a spokesman for the province, in a phone interview with Medias.
At least 20 people were injured in the attack.
Several suicide bombers penetrated the airport base’s security around 6.20 pm, barricading themselves into an old school building that now contains a few shops and battling with Afghan soldiers.
After hours of intense fighting, the battle appeared to be over around 11 pm, according to a senior Afghan army officer at the base, who spoke to NYT on the condition of anonymity. However, reports of gunfire continued to come in.
Kandahar airport housing U.S. forces in Afghanistan’s second-largest city.