Review says Abbey Gate bombing wasn’t preventable, refutes claims troops sighted the would-be bomber

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and FARNOUSH AMIRI
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new review says the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed U.S. troops and Afghans in August 2021 was not preventable, and the “bald man in black” spotted by U.S. service members the morning of the attack was not the bomber. The findings from U.S. Central Command were released Monday. They refute assertions by some service members who believed they had a chance to take out the would-be bomber but did not get approval. The U.S. military also for the first time is confirming that the bomber was Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State militant who had been in an Afghan prison but was released by the Taliban.