Publicly released U.S. military documents or official statements

U.S. Identifies Abbey Gate Bomber, Concludes Attack Unpreventable

Apr 15, 2024, 11:33 AM

The U.S. military has publicly identified the suicide bomber responsible for the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport for the first time. This disclosure comes after a military review concluded that the Islamic State Kabul 2021 suicide bombing, which occurred during the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and resulted in the deaths of both U.S. troops and Afghans, was not preventable. The review also refuted prior claims that Marines had the bomber in their sights before the attack. Additionally, U.S. officials have briefed the families of the 13 service members killed, providing new analysis on the bomber's identity, which has been met with skepticism by the families.