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The US military announced on Friday that a single Islamic State bomber killed 13 US troops and at least 170 Afghans at Kabul airport last August, rather than the complex strike that had been expected, and that the incident could not have been averted with the resources available.
The bomb sent 5mm ball bearings ripping into a packed throng at the airport’s Abbey Gate, according to Marine General Frank McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, who briefed reporters on the results of a military inquiry. No definite evidence of shooting was found during the investigation.
McKenzie added, “I want to recognise that the investigation differs from what we initially understood on the day of the attack.” “At the time, the best intelligence we had in the immediate aftermath of the incident indicated that it was a complicated strike including both a suicide bomber and ISIS-K militants,” he continued, referring to the Islamic State’s Afghan offshoot.
The bombing occurred on August 26 as US troops attempted to assist both Americans and Afghans fleeing in the chaotic aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover, exacerbating America’s sense of loss after 20 years of war.
It also left President Joe Biden’s administration scrambling to respond to charges that the State Department might have evacuated Americans sooner rather than risking the lives of US forces.
The attack put the US military on high alert, which may have contributed to a botched US drone strike that mistakenly targeted civilians as ISIS members.
Army Brigadier General Lance Curtis, when asked if it could have been avoided, said: “This was not preventable, according to our study, on a tactical level. And the local leaders took the necessary precautions.”
McKenzie and other US military officials stated that the investigation had gathered testimony from over a hundred witnesses, medical examiners’ and explosives specialists’ assessments, drone footage, and other evidence.
The bomb was manufactured from roughly 20 pounds of military-grade explosives, according to officials, and the bomber most likely lifted it before detonating it. A total of 45 other US service members were injured in addition to the 13 deceased.
