Alleged Isis mastermind was behind the 2021 bomb attack that killed more than 170 Afghans and 13 US soldiers during the international military evacuations from Afghanistan.
The Taliban government has killed the alleged mastermind of a devastating suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport during the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in 2021, the White House said on Tuesday. The bomber detonated among packed crowds at the airport’s perimeter as they tried to flee Afghanistan on August 26, 2021. The blast killed some 170 Afghans and 13 US troops who were securing the airport for the traumatic exit. It was one of the deadliest bombings in Afghanistan in recent years, and prompted a wave of criticism of President Joe Biden for his decision to pull American forces out of the country nearly 20 years after the US invasion. The leader of the Islamic State cell that planned the attack was killed by Taliban authorities, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. “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,” Kirby said, referring to the spot outside the airport where the attacks took place.
