Afghanistan: Rocket attacks while president Ashraf Ghani offers Eid prayers, WATCH video

Kabul: Three rockets landed near the Afghan Presidential Palace, also known as the Arg, on Tuesday (July 20) during an Eid prayer session attended by President Ashraf Ghani and other senior politicians and officials.

Hamid Roshan, the deputy spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior, said the rockets were set in auto and were launched from Kabul`s Police District 4 area, Khaama Press reported.

The rockets landed when the prayer session had just started at open ground inside the palace compound, said a TOLO News report. Video clips online showed Ghani and others part of the gathering barely flinching and continuing their prayers as the rockets hit. Later, Ghani proceeded to address the gathering. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, reports said. 

Sources have confirmed that the rockets landed in Bagh-e-Ali Mardan and Chaman-e-Hozori areas in Kabul`s District 1 and Manabe Bashari area in Kabul`s District 2, all near the Presidential Palace.

There have been no immediate reports of casualties or damages. Further details are awaited in the absence of any official announcement. No group has so far claimed responsibility.

The attack comes a day after 15 diplomatic missions and the NATO representative in Kabul urged the Taliban to halt offensives, just hours after the group and the Afghan government failed to agree on a ceasefire at their talks in Doha.

Intense fighting, meanwhile, continues in Afghanistan, with both the Taliban and the government claiming gains in various parts of the country.

The United States has condemned the firing of rockets near the presidential palace in Kabul and called for an accelerated path to a political settlement in Afghanistan to pave the way for the lasting peace that its people desire.

Addressing reporters at his daily news conference on Tuesday, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said Afghans have been suffering from "senseless violence" for far too long.

The attack came when Taliban militants have seized dozens of districts in recent weeks and are now thought to control about a third of Afghanistan, ahead of the withdrawal of US and Western troops from the country by September 11.
Under a deal with the Taliban, the US and its NATO allies agreed to withdraw all troops in return for a commitment by the militants that they would prevent extremist groups from operating in areas they control.

(With agency inputs)