Kabul Airport Attack ‘Mastermind’ Killed by Taliban, US Officials Say

U.S. officials said on Tuesday that the Taliban had killed an Islamic State fighter who was the “mastermind” behind a suicide bombing at Kabul’s international airport in 2021 that claimed the lives of 13 American soldiers and scores of civilians during the United States chaotic evacuation from the country.

The bombing occurred on August 26, 2021, as U.S. troops were trying to help Americans and Afghans flee in the chaotic aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover, and compounded America’s sense of defeat after 20 years of war, Reuters reported.

“He was a key ISIS-K official directly involved in plotting operations like Abbey Gate, and now is no longer able to plot or conduct attacks,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement, referring to the Abbey Gate entrance to the Kabul airport where the blast occurred. He did not name the official.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that according to leaked Pentagon documents, Daesh has made Afghanistan a key coordination hub for attack planning across Europe and Asia and engaged in “aspirational plotting” against the United States.

According to the documents, the attack planning reveals deliberate attempts to target embassies, churches, business areas, and the FIFA World Cup, which drew more than 2 million spectators to Qatar last year. These plots, organized by Daesh leaders in Afghanistan, were made known to Pentagon authorities on December 9.

The leaked documents emphasized the mounting danger Daesh presented in Afghanistan. However, there are no signs of al-Qaeda’s resurgence, which many counterterrorism experts predicted would occur after the U.S. pullout.

Daesh is an enemy of the Taliban, which first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in 2014 and later made inroads in other areas, the report said.

However, the de facto administration rejected the presence of Daesh. It said it is propaganda that Daesh is using the country to plot and coordinate terror attacks against the U.S. and its allies.

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