ISIS mastermind of Kabul airport attack killed by Taliban: US

The suicide bombing took place on August 26, 2021, as US troops were trying to help Americans and Afghans flee in the chaotic aftermath of the Taliban's takeover, and compounded America's sense of defeat after 20 years of war.

A United States official on Tuesday (April 25) said that the Taliban killed an Islamic State militant who was the "mastermind" behind a suicide attack at Kabul's international airport in 2021 that killed as many as 13 US troops and scores of civilians during the United States' chaotic evacuation from the country.

The suicide bombing took place on August 26, 2021, as US troops were trying to help Americans and Afghans flee in the chaotic aftermath of the Taliban's takeover, and compounded America's sense of defeat after 20 years of war.

In a statement, White House spokesperson John Kirby said, "He was a key ISIS-K official directly involved in plotting operations like Abbey Gate, and now is no longer able to plot or conduct attacks."

The Afghan affiliate of Islamic State, known as Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K, after an old name of the region, is an enemy of the Taliban. Fighters loyal to Islamic State first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in 2014 and later made inroads in other areas.

There had been hope in Washington that the Taliban's desire for international recognition and assistance for the country's impoverished population might moderate their behaviour after the Trump administration made a deal with them in 2020 to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, and the Biden administration carried out that deal in 2021.

However, the relations between the US and the Taliban have deteriorated significantly since they imposed draconian new measures banning girls from school and excluding women from working for international aid and health agencies.