Taliban kill IS leader behind Kabul airport bombing

US officials have reported that the Islamic State group mastermind who is believed to have planned the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport in August 2021 has been killed by the Taliban. Although the Taliban had initially denied involvement in the attack, they have now confirmed that they killed the IS leader weeks ago, but it took time to confirm his death.

The US officials did not disclose the name of the deceased leader but stated that intelligence gathering and monitoring of the region had led to the identification of the key individual responsible for the attack. The US military has started informing families of the soldiers who lost their lives in the blast about the death of the IS leader.

The suicide bombing that killed 170 civilians and 13 US soldiers at Kabul airport on August 26, 2021 occurred despite Western governments warning their citizens to stay away from the area due to an imminent threat of attack by the Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State group (IS-K). The attack took place at the Abbey Gate, where families were waiting for evacuation flights as US troops were leaving Afghanistan.

The casualties included two British nationals and a child of a British national. In response, the US carried out a drone strike in Kabul, which killed 10 civilians, including seven children. The US government offered a $10m (£8m) reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible for the attack or the capture of ISIS-K leader Sanaullah Ghafari. The pull-out of US troops marked the end of America’s longest war and led to the collapse of the Afghan government and military, and the return of power to the Taliban.

The Biden administration faced criticism both domestically and internationally following the pull-out from Afghanistan. Many were outraged by the abandonment of Afghans and US military equipment, and a US Marine injured in the Kabul airport bombing called the withdrawal a “catastrophe” during Republican-led hearings.

Republican House Representative Michael McCaul welcomed the news of the IS leader’s death but said it did not deliver full justice for the families of the US soldiers who died, and criticized the Biden administration’s failures that led to the attack. President Joe Biden ordered a review of the withdrawal, which was released earlier this month and blamed former President Donald Trump’s decisions, including a 2020 deal with the Taliban to end the war, for severely constraining the Biden administration.

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