This image from a video released by the Defense Department shows Marines at the Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, before a suicide bomber ignited an exploding vest that he was wearing on Aug. 26, 2021. The bombing killed 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans. (Defense Department)
WASHINGTON — The suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed 13 American troops and more than 150 Afghans in August 2021 was not preventable and U.S. service members did not see the suspected bomber on the morning of the attack, according to a new review by U.S. Central Command released Monday.
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which ended Aug. 31, 2021, concluded 20 years of war in Afghanistan for the United States. It also marked the return of Taliban rule in the country, rolling back many human rights in the past 20 months, particularly for women.
The American pullout included the evacuation of thousands of Afghan nationals who fled the country with the U.S. military. The chaotic withdrawal also led to the deaths of 13 service members and 170 Afghans outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021. This triggered widespread debate and congressional criticism.
Former Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March 2023 that his unit warned commanders they saw two suspects in the crowd outside the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport who fit a description flagged by U.S. intelligence. But the Marines said they were denied permission to shoot.
Vargas-Andrews, who was injured during the blast but not interviewed in the initial investigation, said an intelligence bulletin went out at about 2 a.m. on the day of the suicide attack describing a potential bomber and his male companion. Vargas-Andrews said he and others saw the individuals, “nervously looking up at our position,” between noon and 1 p.m. When Marines relayed their findings to a commander and asked for permission to shoot, the commander said he did not have the authority to approve such an action, Vargas-Andrews told lawmakers.
The suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed 13 American troops and more than 150 Afghans in August 2021 was not preventable and U.S. service members did not see the suspected bomber on the morning of the attack, according to a new review by U.S. Central Command released Monday, April 15, 2024. (Defense Department)
In August, Army Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, directed U.S. Army Central to conduct a supplemental review following public testimony and other public statements regarding the events.
In five months, 13 service members from the Marines and the Army conducted more than 50 interviews and compiled more than 1,200 pages of documents and imagery.
“The suicide bomber was not previously identified in the crowd, nor was there an opportunity for service members to engage him prior to the attack on August 26, 2021,” CENTCOM said in its statement.
The review also found the Abbey Gate bombing was not preventable at the tactical level without degrading the mission. It also found military leaders were present and made “sound tactical decisions,” and it is unlikely an improvised explosive device, or IED, test run occurred outside Abbey Gate on Aug. 21, 2021, though investigators were unable to rule it out completely.
For the first time, the U.S. military is confirming the bomber was Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State militant who had been in an Afghan prison but was released by the Taliban as the group took control of the country that summer, The Associated Press reported.
The supplemental review was completed Jan. 16 and senior department leadership was informed of the findings and recommendations the following month. CENTCOM is in the process of briefing the Gold Star families of the 13 service members killed in the attack, according to the statement.
