The Taliban kill the mastermind of the Kabul airport attack

2023-04-26 07:50:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Taliban killed the top Islamic State leader who masterminded the August 2021 suicide attack outside Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. military personnel and about 170 Afghans, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The bombing took place on August 26, 2021, while US troops were trying to help Americans and Afghans leave the chaotic situation following the Taliban takeover.

"He was a key ISIS official directly involved in organizing operations like the one at Abbey Gate, and is now no longer able to plot or carry out attacks," White House spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. referred to the Abbey entrance to Kabul airport where the explosion occurred. He did not name the official.

News of the killing was previously confirmed to The Associated Press by the father of a Marine killed in the attack, who was briefed on Tuesday by military officials.

Over the weekend, the US military began notifying the families of 11 Marines, a sailor and a soldier killed in the explosion at Abbey Gate during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Those family members shared the information in a private message group chat, according to the mother of another Marine. The information the families gave to The Associated Press was confirmed by three US officials and a senior congressional adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public.

The ISIS leader, whose identity has not yet been released, was killed in southern Afghanistan in early April as the Taliban carried out a series of operations against the Islamic State group, according to one of the officials. The Taliban at the time did not know the identity of the person they killed, the official added.

Darin Hoover, the father of Lt. Darin Taylor Hoover, said Marine Corps officials gave him only limited information Tuesday and did not identify the Islamic State leader or provide the circumstances of his death.

Mr. Hoover is one of a group of 12 families of fallen US service members who have leaned on each other and shared information through group messaging since the bombing.

The Afghan branch of the Islamic State, known as the Islamic State of Khorasan or ISIS-K, after an old name for the region, is an enemy of the Taliban. Fighters loyal to the Islamic State first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in 2014 and later infiltrated other areas./ Voa