'Malfunctioning' US missile causes 'several casualties' during Mattis's Afghanistan visit | 27 Sept 2017 | As NATO forces tried to fend off a Taliban attack during the visit of US Secretary of Defense James Mattis to Kabul, a "tragic malfunction" during a US air strike resulted in a number of civilian casualties. "During a failed attack today, insurgents fired several rounds of high-explosive ammunition, including mortars, into the vicinity of Hamid Karzai International Airport and detonated suicide vests endangering a great number of civilians," said a statement from NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. Officials said an investigation into the "malfunction" is underway and promised to release more details about the attack.