The US Department of War says an ongoing investigation into the deadly 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul has uncovered previously undiscovered classified documents that are now being examined by a special review panel.

Sean Parnell, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of War, announced the development in a social media post marking the fifth anniversary of the bombing at Abbey Gate of Kabul’s then-Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The attack killed 13 US service members and approximately 170 Afghan civilians.

According to Parnell, his team recently recovered highly relevant classified documents that should have been disclosed but were found stored in safes and hidden in places where they would not be easily discovered.

He said that after the documents were recovered and reviewed by the special panel, it became clear why someone may have attempted to conceal them. However, Parnell said he would not prematurely reveal the contents of the classified material.

“I’m not going to give you a convenient version of the truth, nor will I give you a rushed one,” Parnell said, stressing that investigators would follow the evidence wherever it leads and would not accept incomplete answers.

The special review panel was established last year, when Secretary of War Pete Hegseth appointed Parnell to lead the investigation. Hegseth said the review was being conducted on behalf of the American people and the families of those killed in the attack.

The panel’s work follows a supplemental review by US Central Command in April 2024, which upheld the findings of the military’s original investigation and concluded that the attack could not have been prevented at the tactical level.

While Parnell did not provide a timeline for completing the review, he pledged that the investigation would be thorough and would provide the full picture of how and why decisions surrounding the attack were made.

“The American people and the families who sacrificed everything are owed the full picture,” he said, promising to continue the investigation until it is completed.

A 16-member delegation from Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh province, led by Deputy Governor Bahrom Yusupov, has visited Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province to discuss expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The delegation met with Kunduz provincial officials and local business representatives during a meeting at the provincial governor’s office.

Kunduz Deputy Governor Mawlawi Habib Rahman Sohaib welcomed the delegation and discussed ways to strengthen economic ties and expand joint trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

Sohaib invited Uzbek and other foreign investors to invest in various sectors in Kunduz, assuring them that the provincial authorities are prepared to provide the necessary facilities and support for investors.

He also called on the Uzbek side to make it easier for Afghan traders to obtain visas in order to facilitate and accelerate trade between the two countries.

Bahrom Yusupov thanked Kunduz officials and traders for their warm welcome, saying Uzbekistan is interested in increasing its investment in Afghanistan.

He said the delegation’s visit was aimed at further strengthening trade relations between the two countries and added that Uzbek businesses would seek opportunities to invest jointly with Afghan traders in Kunduz in the future.

The visit comes as Kunduz plays an important economic, agricultural and transit role in northern Afghanistan, with direct and indirect trade routes linking the province to Central Asian countries, particularly Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.