An assessment of the Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, released Monday, concluded that the bombing was not preventable, despite assertions from some service members.
The attack at the Afghanistan airport resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members, including 11 Marines, and 170 Afghans in August 2021.
Several U.S. service members claimed to have identified the bomber, later confirmed as Islamic State militant Abdul Rahman al-Logari, hours before the attack. However, they were reportedly unable to obtain clearance to neutralize him, according to the Associated Press.
The report from United States Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that the service members had actually identified a different individual, described as a “bald man in black,” after comparing images of the suspected individual and al-Logari.
“For the past two years, some service members have claimed that they had the bomber in their sights and they could have prevented the attack. We now know that is not correct,” said a CENTCOM team member to the AP.
The report highlighted that the individual service members believed to be the bomber was observed at the airport at 7 a.m. on the day of the bombing, while al-Logari arrived shortly before the attack occurred, several hours later.
Although some family members of the service members expressed doubts regarding the identification of the “bald man in black,” they acknowledged that the new report provided additional insight into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their loved ones.
Mark Schmitz, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, mentioned that he was informed about his son’s location at the time of the bombing and that his son had lost consciousness immediately, minimizing the extent of the injuries sustained from the shrapnel.
Critics, including Oklahoma GOP Sen. Jim Inhofe, have heavily criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, labeling it as “disastrous.” They have also voiced concerns about the lack of accountability in the evacuation process.
