US military orders new interviews on the deadly 2021 Afghan airport attack as criticism persists

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon’s Central Command has decided to interview roughly two dozen service members who were at the Kabul airport when suicide bombers attacked during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal but weren’t included in the military’s initial investigation. The decision, according to officials, does not reopen the administration’s investigation into the bombing and the chaotic withdrawal. But the interviews are meant to see if any of the service members have new or different information. The new interviews were triggered in part by assertions by at least one service member injured in the blast who said he was never interviewed about it and that he may have been able to stop the attacker.