Latest news with #AbbeyGateBombing
Associated Press
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Hegseth orders new review of Afghanistan withdrawal and suicide bombing at Kabul airport
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered another review of the U.S. military's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, and of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed American troops and Afghans. President Donald Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly blasted the Biden administration for the withdrawal, which Hegseth said Tuesday was 'disastrous and embarrassing.' He said the new review will interview witnesses, analyze the decision-making and 'get the truth.' There have already been multiple reviews of the withdrawal by the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command, the State Department and Congress, which have involved hundreds of interviews and studies of videos, photographs and other footage and data. It's unclear what specific new information the new review is seeking. The Abbey Gate bombing during the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans, and wounded scores more. It triggered widespread debate and congressional criticism, fueled by searing photographs of desperate Afghans trying to crowd into the airport to get out of Kabul, with some clinging to U.S. military aircraft as they were taking off. A detailed U.S. military review was ordered in 2023 to expand the number of people interviewed, after a Marine injured in the blast said snipers believed they saw the possible bomber but couldn't get approval to take him out. The findings, released in 2024, refuted those assertions and concluded that the bombing was not preventable. A congressional review was highly critical of the withdrawal, saying the Biden administration did not adequately prepare for it or for all the contingencies and put personnel in danger. Others, however, have faulted the State Department for not moving quickly enough to decide on an evacuation, resulting in a rush to get out as the Taliban took control of the country. Critics have also blamed Trump for making a deal with the Taliban in 2020 when he was president to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which decreased the number of forces on the ground as the pullout went on. Both Trump and then-President Joe Biden wanted an end to the war and U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. The new review will be led by Sean Parnell, the assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs. He will convene a panel that will provide updates 'at appropriate times,' but there is no time frame or deadline for any report, which is very unusual.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Hegseth orders new review of Afghanistan withdrawal and suicide bombing at Kabul airport
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered another review of the U.S. military's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, and of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed American troops and Afghans. President Donald Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly blasted the Biden administration for the withdrawal, which Hegseth said Tuesday was 'disastrous and embarrassing.' He said the new review will interview witnesses, analyze the decision-making and 'get the truth.' There have already been multiple reviews of the withdrawal by the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command, the State Department and Congress, which have involved hundreds of interviews and studies of videos, photographs and other footage and data. It's unclear what specific new information the new review is seeking. The Abbey Gate bombing during the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans, and wounded scores more. It triggered widespread debate and congressional criticism, fueled by searing photographs of desperate Afghans trying to crowd into the airport to get out of Kabul, with some clinging to U.S. military aircraft as they were taking off. A detailed U.S. military review was ordered in 2023 to expand the number of people interviewed, after a Marine injured in the blast said snipers believed they saw the possible bomber but couldn't get approval to take him out. The findings, released in 2024, refuted those assertions and concluded that the bombing was not preventable. A congressional review was highly critical of the withdrawal, saying the Biden administration did not adequately prepare for it or for all the contingencies and put personnel in danger. Others, however, have faulted the State Department for not moving quickly enough to decide on an evacuation, resulting in a rush to get out as the Taliban took control of the country. Critics have also blamed Trump for making a deal with the Taliban in 2020 when he was president to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which decreased the number of forces on the ground as the pullout went on. Both Trump and then-President Joe Biden wanted an end to the war and U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. The new review will be led by Sean Parnell, the assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs. He will convene a panel that will provide updates 'at appropriate times,' but there is no time frame or deadline for any report, which is very unusual.
Iraqi News
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Trump says suspected 2021 Kabul airport bombing plotter being sent to US
INA- sources US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US is transporting an individual suspected of plotting a deadly 2021 ISIS (Daesh) bombing at Kabul's international airport that killed 13 US troops and about 170 Afghan civilians. "I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice," Trump said during a joint address to both chambers of Congress. Trump thanked the Pakistani government "for helping arrest this monster," calling his detention a "momentous day" for the families of the slain US service members. The president did not identify the suspect by name, but CNN reported that he is Mohammad Sharifullah, a person who allegedly helped plan the Abbey Gate Bombing in the final days of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump continued to criticize the US withdrawal, calling it "disastrous and incompetent." "It was the way they withdrew, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country," he said. "Such incompetence was shown that when Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, 'Well, maybe this is my chance.' That's how bad it was. Should have never happened. Grossly incompetent people."
