The Pentagon revealed the findings of its investigation into the ISIS-K suicide bomber who killed more than 180 people, including 13 U.S. service members, in Afghanistan.
Abdul Rehman al Loghri, the ISIS operative who was previously held at Bagram prison but was subsequently released when the Taliban overthrew the Ghani government, detonated a suicide device at the gates of Hamid Karzai International Airport where the United States and allies were evacuating at-risk Afghans on Aug. 26, just days before the U.S.’s imminent withdrawal.
Al Loghri was the only person involved in the execution of the bombing, the investigation concluded. Additionally, it found that each of the service members who were killed died in the blast and not in gunfire that was reported after the detonation. Investigators determined the gunfire did not happen.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters on Friday that investigators found that the explosive device included ball bearings that “caused wounds to look like gunshots,” which is why officials initially believed multiple ISIS members were involved and that there was gunfire.
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“It was a single blast, and it did not have a follow attack,” Brig. Gen. Lance Curtis told reporters. “There were a series of crossing fires to the front of the service members on the ground that created the illusion that there was a complex attack, but there absolutely was not. There were no gunshot wounds. We have universal agreement between the Armed Forces Medical Examiner’s Office and also the medical providers on the ground.”
In the days before the blast, President Joe Biden and a variety of other administration officials warned about intelligence that suggested such an attack was imminent. The U.S. was able to prevent another attack days later when rockets were fired at the airport.
Days after the bombing, the U.S. launched an airstrike it believed would prevent an imminent terror attack on the airport, though it targeted a civilian aid worker whom the U.S. thought posed a risk to the evacuation. Zemari Ahmadi, the target who in all actuality had no terror ties, was killed along with nine other civilians, including his children.
The remaining members of his family are still in Afghanistan, though they are seeking to come to the U.S. and they have Austin’s support for relocation. No military personnel faced legal or professional consequences as a result of the botched strike.
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The military left Afghanistan at the end of August after 20 years, having spent the final month evacuating more than 120,000 foreign nationals and at-risk Afghans. Thousands were still left behind.
