US anti-missile system fired to intercept rockets at Kabul airport

The U.S. military has fired an American-made anti-missile system to intercept rockets fired at Kabul's international airport on the eve of a withdrawal deadline for foreign troops in the Afghan war.

Rocket fire apparently targeting Hamid Karzai International Airport struck a nearby neighborhood Monday, the eve of the deadline for American troops to withdraw from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country's longest war. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was hurt in the strike.

A U.S. official told ABC News that five rockets were fired toward Kabul International Airport on Sunday night and that an American-made missile defense system was used to intercept them.

It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets, but officials believe the Taliban are to blame. Some rockets hit a nearby area that includes a nightclub, an office building, and private houses but caused no damage.

The U.S. has used up to nine missile interceptor systems around the country to protect against Taliban attacks on Kabul airport and other major cities in recent months. It's unclear when American missiles were used previously in Afghanistan before Sunday's attack.

Kabul local hospital officials said they saw patients having legs amputated, but it wasn't clear whether those victims were rockets victims or others being treated for injuries caused by the attack over the weekend.

The U.S. military has pulled out most of its troops from Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover of the country in late 2001 and the war that followed has developed into a stalemate with Taliban insurgents staging major attacks almost daily.

The United Nations estimates that 5,000 foreign troops may remain in Afghanistan as part of a NATO-led security coalition to train and advise Afghan security personnel after the withdrawal deadline at the end of 2014 for American troops who will return home. An additional 3,000 American troops may stay a little longer to help Afghan forces.

The Taliban have called for all foreign military forces to leave Afghanistan before the end of 2014 as part of a peace treaty with Washington and Kabul. The Taliban say their fighters will not lay down their weapons until foreign forces leave.

The war will be officially declared over in the evening of December 31 when most foreign troops leave the country and full responsibility for security is handed over to Afghan forces.

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan jumped 16 percent in 2013, reaching a record high of 11,700 people killed and wounded, according to U.N. figures released earlier this month. While U.S.-led NATO forces were responsible for just 3 percent of the deaths they did suffer their highest number of casualties since 2009, with 649 deaths - three times more than in 2012.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Campbell, announced the decision at a town hall meeting with Army and Marines leaders in Kabul. He said there are currently 10,800 American soldiers remaining in the war-torn country during what has been called the "transition" or "withdrawal" phase.

Campbell said that US forces will be transitioning from combat operations to training Afghan security forces as early as next month. But he said that the decision about the number of troops remaining in Afghanistan would not be based on troop pullout deadlines but rather on whether Afghan security forces are ready.

Next year President Obama plans to announce his new plan for continued US involvement in Afghanistan, which will likely not include a large-scale U.S. military presence like those of the past two years that were largely focused on fighting the Taliban.

Campbell said the withdrawal of American troops will not affect the military's ability to strike Taliban targets as needed. In addition to some U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan, Campbell said that NATO will have a significant presence in 2014 and to do the type of training mission that the US has been doing.

It's unclear whether President Hamid Karzai will sign a deal with Washington on an agreement governing some U.S. military presence in Afghanistan after this year -- something that is essential for Washington if it is to keep operating its huge Bagram airbase and have any troops present beyond 2014.

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