Najib Danish, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the Taliban fired up to about six projectiles at and near the airport, hitting both the international and the military sector of the sprawling hub and also two civilian houses nearby. The gunbattle with Afghan special forces left "four of the terrorists dead," he said.

Mattis was meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the time of the attack, along with visiting Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. It was not immediately known if Mattis' plane was damaged in the attack.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet that the "military section of the Kabul airport was hit with missiles; target was plane of U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis" and that "losses (were) caused" in the attack.

Ghani said during a joint press conference with Mattis and Stoltenberg that Afghan special forces troops quickly brought the attack under control. Mattis called the attack "a crime" during the news conference, which was broadcast live.