Gunmen carried out a pre-dawn rocket attack on Kabul International Airport on Thursday, temporarily shutting down the facility and setting off a gun battle with security forces.

The militants occupied two buildings which were under construction some 700 meters (yards) north of the facility, and were using them as a base to direct rockets and gunfire toward the airport and international jet fighters flying over Kabul.

Four of the attackers were killed and that the attack was halted without any civilian or police casualties.

The airport was later reopened and operations returned to normal, after security forces inspected the runways for shrapnel and explosives.