The military investigations into the lethal suicide attack on Kabul airport established the bomber “acted alone,” nullifying the Pentagon’s previous claims he was accompanied by a group of gunmen.
The Pentagon just ate its own words
In the final minutes of the American troops leaving the war-torn country of Afghanistan, the bomb blast outside the Kabul airport downed 13 US soldiers and 170 Afghans.
Present outside the airport, American troops were screening thousands of Afghans who were trying to board the crowded flight leaving the country as the Taliban took over.
On Friday, Pentagon officials studied minute-by-minute accounts of the bombing and found out those who faced the misery had “catastrophic” wounds that they did not overcome.
This busted many myths that existed since the attack, which claimed it could be a gunfire attack followed by a blast, and that American soldiers also received bullets.
AIRPORT ATTACK REPORT: The Pentagon's investigation into the blast at the Kabul airport during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan found that a lone suicide bomber carried out the attack that killed at least 183 people. @MarthaRaddatz reports. https://t.co/xogJJCEgCh pic.twitter.com/6Ob5Dm0V2v
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) February 5, 2022
The head of US Central command, Frank McKenzie, stated the lethality of the attack can be measured from American soldiers and staff members wearing body armor and helmets that stopped ball bearings to the maximum, but still not surviving the attack.
Contrary to previous claims, the head of the central command, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, argued there is no definite proof that suggests anyone was hit by a bullet within the crowd, which establishes that the bomber acted alone.
General McKenzie acknowledged the mistake, claiming the battlefield is actually a confusing and contradictory place.
Investigators backed the decision of opening the gates of the Kabul airport until the blast, despite the threat of a blast by ISIS, noting hundreds of Afghans were present with valid travel documents, so there was no point in stopping them.
Pentagon claimed the Kabul attack was not preventable
Reportedly, the Pentagon reached a conclusion without talking to an eyewitness of the incident by relying only on drone footage of the disaster.
Since the attack happened, the views of the Pentagon and the people on the ground have changed numerous times. Defense Department officials initially claimed a group of ISIS fighters opened gunfire on the crowd.
Some people even believed American forces started shooting into the crowd as they believed they were under attack. However, this version of events has also proven fake in the latest Pentagon report.
According to the New York Times, the biggest blunder came three days after the bombing when the Biden administration mistakenly launched a drone strike on a white Toyota, thinking it was accompanying terrorists.
The news outlet reported the officials who ordered the strike somehow missed the footage of the child nearby almost a couple of minutes ago.
Pentagon investigation finds single suicide bomber is responsible for attack that killed 13 US service members amid Afghanistan withdrawal https://t.co/zFlW7umSNu
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) February 4, 2022
When talking about the bombing, Brig Gen. Lance Clark of the American Army noted “this was not preventable.”
