Italian plane fired at leaving Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan

A plane transporting civilian out of Afghanistan was shot at as it departed Kabul, according to sources within the Italian defense ministry.

Those on board the Italian air force plane reported coming under fire minutes after take-off on Thursday.

A source told the Reuters news agency the plane was not damaged in the incident.

An Italian journalist traveling on the flight told Sky 24 TG that the plane had been carrying almost 100 Afghan civilians at the time.

There have been increased tensions around the airport in Kabul in recent days as the August 31 deadline nears for foreign forces to exit the country.

British citizens still in the country have been warned to avoid the area because of the high risk of a terrorist attack.

Thousands of people have been gathering to try to get on planes leaving the nation after the Taliban seized control.

Frantic scenes have been witnessed amid fears people who helped foreign powers may be unable to escape, leaving them to an uncertain future under the new rulers.

It’s not known who was responsible for the shots or whether the plane was the intended target.

Various western powers, including the UK and US, have been airlifting people out of Afghanistan for the last two weeks.

In total, around 88,000 people have been evacuated so far, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

The Taliban have pledged not to attack Western forces during the evacuation, but insist the foreign troops must be out by America’s self-imposed deadline of Aug. 31.

Earlier, British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told the BBC there was ‘very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack’ at the airport, possibly within ‘hours.’

Canadian forces halted their evacuations of around 3,700 Canadian and Afghan citizens on Thursday, saying they had stayed as long as they could.