Officials concluded there was no way to tactically prevent the attack.
The Department of Defense (DoD) concluded this week that there was no way to have tactically prevented the 2021 suicide bombing that killed 183 people, including 13 U.S. armed service members, at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan. A supplemental review team identified the lone bomber, who carried out the attack on behalf of ISIS, and recognized he was one of many terrorists ready and willing to conduct such an attack.
“With access to analysis from across the intelligence community, we were able to identify the Abbey Gate person-borne IED bomber as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an [ISIS-K] member since 2016,” said one Army official on the 12-person, joint supplemental review team.
Even had the U.S. Army been able to identify and stop al-Logari from completing the bombing, ISIS would have directed another individual to enact a similar attack in his stead. “This supports the conclusion that the attack at Abbey Gate was not preventable at the tactical level,” the official said.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For U.S. defense leaders as they review the protocols and procedures that were used in the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.
- For comfort for the families of the service members who lost their lives in the attack.
- For the protection of American troops who are deployed around the world.
Sources: Department of Defense
