In a brazen attack on a civilian facility on Wednesday, terrorists in Afghanistan launched an unsuccessful rocket attack on the international airport in Kabul. The apparent target of the attack was Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the airplane he arrived on, but he was far from there at the time. Despite this heinous assault on civilians in the hopes of killing a U.S. official, and the network previously mentioning it, CBS Evening News failed to report an update on the situation.
In a news brief during NBC Nightly News, Anchor Lester Holt noted that “both ISIS and the Taliban claim they targeted Defense Secretary James Mattis in a rocket attack on Afghanistan's main airport today. But Mattis had actually left the airport hours before, according to the Afghan President.”
ABC’s World News Tonight ran a much longer report where Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz went into greater detail:
This burning plume after that barrage of firepower, some 40 rounds of munitions, the majority rocket-propelled grenades launched towards Kabul’s airport. The target, claims the Taliban, the aircraft Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had flown in on hours before. At the time of the attack, Mattis was meeting with Afghanistan's President.
She also mentioned how, regrettably, a woman was killed and many others wounded when “Afghan special forces raided a nearby house. They were backed up by a U.S. airstrike. A missile from an Apache helicopter malfunctioned…”
And in a press conference which occurred during the five-hour-long siege at the airport, Mattis told those present that:
An attack on an international airport anywhere in the world is a criminal act by terrorists. It's designed to go after her generally innocent people to make some sort of statement, and this is a classic definition of what the Taliban are up to right now.
“This attack is a stark reminder that even after 16 years of trying to defeat the Taliban and the loss of thousands of lives, they still remain a formidable threat,” Raddatz added as she wrapped up her report.
Both ABC and NBC noted that this was Mattis’ first visit to Afghanistan since the President announced an increase in the U.S. troop presence going forward. “The unannounced trip has been his first trip to the country since President Trump revealed his new strategy for the ongoing war there,” Holt said.
Even though they mentioned it during their morning show, CBS thought it wasn’t worth an update. Instead of reporting on the attack designed to kill the Secretary of Defense, they ran a report slamming President Trump for his recent perceived “misplays.”
Transcripts below:
NBC Nightly News
September 27, 2017
7:14:28 PM EasternLESTER HOLT: Turning overseas now, both ISIS and the Taliban claim they targeted Defense Secretary James Mattis in a rocket attack on Afghanistan's main airport today. But Mattis had actually left the airport hours before, according to the Afghan President. The unannounced trip has been his first trip to the country since President Trump revealed his new strategy for the ongoing war there.
...
ABC
World News Tonight
September 27, 2017
6:39:05 PM EasternDAVID MUIR: Overseas tonight, the images after a fierce rocket attack on the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. It came after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived there, and after the U.S. revealed, here back some time ago that more U.S. troops are on the way. ABC's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz with images of the attack.
[Cuts to video]
MARTHA RADDATZ: This burning plume after that barrage of firepower, some 40 rounds of munitions, the majority rocket-propelled grenades launched towards Kabul’s airport. The target, claims the Taliban, the aircraft Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had flown in on hours before. At the time of the attack, Mattis was meeting with Afghanistan's President.
But not only did the Taliban take credit, but so did ISIS, releasing a video they claimed shows the attack in progress. Afghan special forces raided a nearby house. They were backed up by a U.S. airstrike. A missile from an Apache helicopter malfunctioned, killing one woman and wounding several others.
This was Mattis' first visit since the U.S. announced it would be adding 3,000 American troops to the 11,000 already there.
[Cuts back to live]
This attack is a stark reminder that even after 16 years of trying to defeat the Taliban, and the loss of thousands of lives, they still remain a formidable threat. David?
MUIR: Martha Raddatz from Washington. Martha, thank you.
