Defense Secretary Mattis misses Terrorist Attack after arriving at Kabul Airport

On September 27^th U.S. Defense Secretary General James Mattis made a trip to Kabul, Afghanistan to pledge support for the Afghan government and discuss security options with President Ashraf Ghani. A rocket attack  targeted the airport two hours after which Mattis touched down in.  All flights were halted as result of the attack.

A barrage of up to 40 munitions hit the airport including 29 rocket-propelled grenades. The three terrorists involved with the attack were allegedly killed by Afghan special forces.

The trip was not publicized, and it’s unclear how the attackers knew Secretary Mattis was scheduled to arrive, although Taliban commanders told NBC News they were tipped off of Mattis’ presence by sources within the Afghan security forces. This was Secretary Mattis’ first trip to Afghanistan since President Trump announced a troop increase to Afghanistan on August 21^st. Mattis is also excepted to meet with U.S. troops during his visit, as well as hold a press conference with President Ghani and, NATO chief Stoltenberg.

Zabihullah Majahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed the Taliban for responsibility of the attack and said their primary aim was U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis and other U.S. officials, a competing claim was issued by the Islamic State.

The Islamic State and the Taliban have previously competed over claims of responsibility for attacks. Most notably a  June of 2016  suicide car bomb that hit a minibus carrying Canadian embassy guards and killed 14 Nepalese nationals, as well as wounding several others.

If the Islamic State truly conducted this attack it would mark the first major IS attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The Taliban and Islamic State have overlapping controlled territories and support zones. The Taliban is estimated to control about 45%  of the country.

In President Trump made a speech on August 21st  looking to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan. There are an estimated 11,000 U.S. troops, which President Trump looks to increase by about 3,000.  He also reported that the U.S. would no longer harbor the support of terrorism form neighboring Pakistan.

President Trump also expects NATO allies to increase their number of troops.  Currently the United States has around 11,000 troops in Afghanistan, of which 7,000 make up the bulk of the roughly 13,500 NATO Resolute Support training missions. The remaining U.S. troops primarily conduct U.S. counterterrorism operations.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is committed to funding the afghan security forces until 2020, and will continue to provide them $1 billion each year.

The United States has already increased the amount of air strikes in Afghanistan, dropping more ordinance from June to September of 2017 than at any time since the 2012 surge.

General Mattis had flown in from India, a key ally in the Trump Administration’s proposed Afghan strategy. It remains to be seen whether the additional 3,000 or so U.S. troops proposed in the plan will be sufficient to turn around Afghanistan’s fortunes.