Rebel Rockets Hit Soviet Ammo at Kabul Airport

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan rebels fired a barrage of rockets today at Kabul’s main airport, blowing up a large Soviet ammunition dump, destroying airplanes and killing and wounding a number of people, a Soviet source said.

Firemen worked into the night to control the blazing depot, which was blown up by a salvo of Muslim rebel rockets in a late afternoon attack.

“Many people were killed and wounded,” the Soviet source said, acknowledging that there had been casualties among Moscow’s forces stationed at the military section on the northern end of Kabul airport. He gave no casualty figures.

Western diplomats said rockets also landed near the U.S. Embassy and the presidential palace, but there were no immediate reports of damage to either of those buildings.

Pakistan Air Raid

Earlier today, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in Islamabad that Afghan warplanes bombed villages about 40 miles inside Pakistan, killing one person and prompting a protest from the government. The U.S. State Department condemned the attack, calling it the “latest and most extreme incident of armed intervention” against Pakistan.

The diplomats said the first rockets fell on Kabul around 3 p.m. at the airport. The attack appeared to be over by 4:10 p.m., reports said.

The Soviet source said that the ammunition dump was “one of many” at the sprawling facility. “Some planes were (only) affected, others (completely) destroyed,” the Soviet source said.

May Be Worst in 10 Years

Regarding today’s bombing raid, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasir Jamal said in Islamabad that it may have been the worst violation of Pakistan’s territory since Afghanistan’s civil war broke out 10 years ago.

Nasir said the planes flew 43 miles into the Warsak district of northwest Pakistan, killing one person, injuring seven and destroying five houses.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Phyllis Oakley said the attack was a violation of the 4-month-old Geneva agreement on Afghanistan.