Pentagon to revisit Kabul airport bombing with new witness interviews

Over two years after a deadly bombing at the Kabul airport during the US military withdrawal, the Pentagon has decided to revisit the attack by conducting interviews with nearly 20 servicemen who were wounded.

This comes as the Pentagon is facing backlash from the GOP lawmakers and military personnel over the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

General Michael E. Kurilla, overseeing the US Central Command, ordered the interviews saying it was “to ensure we do our due diligence” after new information came to light, according to The Washington Post.

A number of service members who were severely wounded in the bombing and had to be quickly evacuated from the country represent the bulk of the individuals to be interviewed. A few others who weren’t wounded but present on the site will also be interviewed, with the Central Command not ruling out the possibility of growing the scope of investigation if new threads emerge from the interviews.

The fresh investigation by the authorities was partly triggered by assertions from one of the service members injured in the blast who said he was never interview and that he may have been able to stop the attackers,

A report by The Post last year revealed that two US Marines had spotted a man, matching the description of the the alleged bomber and asked for permission to strike. However, the high command did not grant them permission, saying there were too many civilians nearby.

Notably, the Central Command’s investigation report into the blasts, published in October 2021 stated that owing to the worsening security situation at the airport’s Abbey Gate “the attack was not preventable at the tactical level without degrading the mission to maximize the number of evacuees”.