WATCH: Eid prayers continue at Afghan presidential palace even as 3 rockets land outside

Eid-al-Adha prayers at the official residence of Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani were disrupted when rockets hit near his Presidential Palace in the capital city of Kabul.

The rockets reportedly hit right before President Ghani was to give an address to mark the holiday of Eid. As per regional news channels, an outdoor prayer gathering inside the compound was disrupted after multiple loud explosions were heard. Ghani was in attendance as the prayers continued with sounds of rocket blasts in the background.

Video by national TV shows the moment rockets landed near the Presidential Palace during Eid prayers this morning. pic.twitter.com/WmEniyfLfM

— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) July 20, 2021

He reportedly later delivered an address which was broadcast on local stations.

Afghanistan is in the middle of a violent power struggle. The democratically elected government is losing its grip on majority of the country’s different regions to a resurgent Taliban which is rampaging forward, capturing districts and border crossings.

Notably, Taliban has not declared a ceasefire on Eid this year, moving away from the earlier pattern. The Afghan government failed to convince Taliban of a ceasefire at earlier talks in Doha.

The Afghan presidential palace is in the middle of a highly fortified area called the green zone. It is protected by barbed wire and giant cement blast walls with streets around it closed for the public.