Afghan security personel stand guard near the airport complex in Kandahar on Dec 9, 2015. (JAVED TANVEER / AFP)
KABUL - Flights in Afghanistan's Kandahar airport were suspended early Sunday after rockets struck the nation's second main international airport Saturday night, a local official confirmed.
Kandahar airport was targeted by us because the enemy were using it as a centre to conduct air strikes against us.
Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesperson
"Kandahar airport was targeted by us because the enemy were using it as a center to conduct air strikes against us," Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, told Reuters.
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Afghan government officials said the rocket attacks forced authorities to suspend all flights and that the runway was partially damaged. There were no immediate reports of casualties, the officials said.
Kandahar city, the capital of the southern Kandahar province, has been the scene of fierce clashes recently as Afghan government security forces continued heavy fighting to prevent Taliban militants from advancing. The militants were trying to overrun the city after capturing several suburban districts in the province in recent weeks.
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On Saturday, three civilians were killed and 10 civilians, including two women and two children, were wounded during heavy battles in Kandahar city, Dawood Farhad, director of main government-run hospital in the city, told Xinhua earlier on Sunday.
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