The U.S. military has refuted claims suggesting they withheld information about subsequent attacks on American forces following the devastating bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in August 2021. Officials maintain that the incident was the work of a lone insurgent, not part of a coordinated assault.
The rebuttal comes after a CNN report unveiled footage showing multiple gunfire rounds following the airport explosion, which claimed the lives of 13 U.S. servicemembers and numerous Afghan civilians. The video, allegedly captured by a U.S. Marine stationed at the airport, depicts American troops assuming defensive positions as sporadic gunfire rings out, with injured Afghan civilians seen moving frantically in and out of sight.
Recent Pentagon reviews have reiterated the initial findings that an ISIS-K suicide bomber acted alone in the attack and that it could not have been prevented at a tactical level. However, soldiers and Afghan witnesses interviewed by CNN reported hearing multiple gunshots post-explosion, contradicting the notion of mere warning shots. Some even suggested that American forces might have inadvertently killed civilians, mistaking them for threats.
Army Lt. Col. Rob Lodewick, spokesperson for the Abbey Gate Supplemental Review Team, clarified that military personnel had not been given an opportunity to review the CNN video before its release. He emphasized that their investigations found no evidence supporting claims of a coordinated attack or additional gunfire post-blast.
While acknowledging the presence of gunfire and warning shots from U.S. and coalition forces, Lodewick vehemently denied any intentional misinformation or deception by military officials.
The details surrounding the tragic attack, its precursors, and its aftermath have fueled debates among lawmakers and officials for the past three years. Republicans have repeatedly accused the White House and military of minimizing the incident's severity to mitigate criticism over the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Controversially, former Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, wounded in the attack, asserted that his team had identified the suicide bomber prior to the explosion but was denied authorization to neutralize the threat. Military sources maintain that no such identification occurred before the attack.
