The father of a U.S. Marine who was killed in the attack was briefed by military officials on Tuesday that Taliban fighters killed ISIL in a deadly suicide bombing outside Kabul airport in August 2021. ) senior leaders.
An explosion at the entrance to the monastery gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport kills some 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members During the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
Over the weekend, the U.S. military began notifying the families of the 11 Marines, sailors and soldiers killed in the attack that the leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) group had been killed. The family members then shared the information in a private group chat, according to the mother of another Marine.
Three U.S. officials and a senior congressional aide confirmed the family’s account to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public.
The unidentified leader of ISIS was killed in southern Afghanistan in early April during a series of Taliban operations against the group, according to one of the officials.
The official added that Taliban fighters at the time did not know the identities of those they killed.
Darin Taylor Hoover, the father of Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, said the Marine Corps provided him with limited information Tuesday and did not identify the leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) The identity of the person and the cause of his death were not stated.
Hoover is one of 12 Gold Star families who lost someone who served in the U.S. Armed Forces to stay in touch after the bombing, supporting each other and sharing information via message chat.
The chat was created by Cheryl Rex, the mother of Marine Corporal Dylan Melora who was killed in the bombing.
Rex, an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s handling of the troop withdrawal, told The Associated Press that they learned of the killing through a chat group late Monday as they awaited official confirmation from U.S. military officials. confirm.
Hoover said he and his son’s mother, Kelly Hansen, have spent the past year and a half mourning the death of the 31-year-old Marine Corps staff sergeant and praying that the Biden administration handles the withdrawal.
Hoover said the killing of unidentified members of the Islamic State (ISIS) group did them no favors.
“No matter what happens, Taylor will not be brought back, and I understand that,” he said by phone. “The only thing his mom and I can do now is defend him. All we want is the truth. We’re not getting it. That’s the frustrating part.”
On Aug. 26, 2021, his son and other fallen servicemen were also screening tens of thousands of Afghans who frantically tried to board a crowded flight out of the country after the Taliban took over.
The scene of despair quickly turned into one of horror when a suicide bomber struck. The ISIL (ISIS) group claimed responsibility.
The explosion at the gate of the monastery came hours after Western officials warned of a major attack and urged people to leave the airport. But the advice was largely ignored by Afghans desperate to flee in the final days of the U.S.-led withdrawal before the U.S. formally ended its 20-year presence in the country.
With as many as 4,000 members, the Islamic State of the Islamic State (ISIS) affiliate in Afghanistan is the Taliban’s most staunch enemy and greatest military threat. Since the Taliban took over, the group has continued to carry out attacks in Afghanistan, particularly targeting the country’s minorities.
After the Trump administration reached an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 2020, the Biden administration continued to implement the agreement in 2021.
Washington had hoped that the Taliban hoped that international recognition and aid to the country’s impoverished population might temper their behaviour.
But relations between the US and the Taliban have soured badly as they implemented new measures to bar girls from going to school and women from working for international aid and health agencies.
However, there are still lines of communication between the two sides under the leadership of Tom West, the US special envoy for Afghanistan. West’s contacts were primarily Taliban officials in Kabul, rather than the group’s more ideological branch based in Kandahar.
The withdrawal of U.S. troops in August 2021 led to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and army that the U.S. had supported for nearly two decades, and the Taliban returned to power.
In the aftermath, President Joe Biden directed a broad review “from top to bottom,” which was released earlier this month.
In a censored version released publicly, the Biden administration largely blamed President Donald Trump for a chaotic 2021 withdrawal, with a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate.
News of the killing came on the same day that Biden formally announced that he would seek re-election, a reminder of one of the toughest chapters of his presidency.
At the time, the disastrous drawdown was the biggest crisis facing the relatively new government. That raises sharp questions about the competence and experience of Biden and his team — two pillars of his bid for the White House.
