The U.S. military says that a single bomber carried out Kabul attacks on the airport

The U.S. military says that a single bomber carried out Kabul attacks on the airport. 

WASHINGTON: The U.S. military said that one Islamic State bomber killed 13 U.S. troops and about 170 Afghans at Kabul airport in August last year. 

But not in the way that the complicated Kabul attacks were initially suspected to be the case and that it could not be prevented by the resources available on the ground.

In a briefing to journalists on a military investigation, Marine General Frank McKenzie. 

The director of U.S. Central Command declared that the explosion caused 5mm ball bearings to rip through a crowd of people inside the airport’s Abbey Gate. 

The inquiry found no conclusive evidence of firearms fired.

“I would like to acknowledge that the evidence gathered differs from what we originally thought we knew about the incident,” McKenzie said.

“At the time, the only information available immediately following the attack suggested there was evidence of a complicated attack carried out by the suicide bomber and ISIS-K attackers,” McKenzie added with an acronym of ISIS’s Afghan affiliate.

The bombing took place on the 26th of August. 26 while U.S. troops were trying to assist both Americans and Afghans escape the chaos aftershocks of the Taliban’s victory and exacerbated America’s feeling of defeat following 20 years of war.

The incident also led to President Joe Biden’s office responding to claims that the State Department could have evacuated Americans earlier rather than placing U.S. troops at risk.

The attack placed the U.S. military on a high alert, which could have led to the failure of a U.S. drone strike that confused civilians with Islamic State militants.

When asked if it could have been avoided, Army Brigadier General Lance Curtis stated: “Based upon our investigation at the tactical level, it was unavoidable. And the commanders on the ground took the proper procedure.”

McKenzie, as well as other U.S. military officials, said that the investigation had gathered evidence from more than 100 witnesses, analyses from medical examiners and experts in explosives drone footage, along other information.

Officials claimed that the bomb was composed of approximately 20 pounds of military-grade explosives. The person who made it likely lowered it before setting it off. 

In addition to the thirteen U.S. servicemembers killed, around 45 more were wounded.