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Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul has released the following statement in response to USCENTCOM’s updated after action report on the terrorist attack at Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021. CENTCOM reopened the investigation in response to testimony provided to the committee and because of pressure by the committee’s investigation into the Biden administration’s deadly and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. 

“While I’m pleased my investigation forced the Biden administration to reopen their investigation into the Abbey Gate attack that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers and the injury of 45, it should not have taken this long to get answers. In addition, if congressional Democrats had fulfilled their constitutional obligations and conducted oversight of what happened more than two years ago, much of this information could have come to light then and saved years of anguish and speculation for many. I hope this updated report provides some level of clarity to the families of those who were killed, those who were injured in the attack, and all veterans, especially those who served in Afghanistan. 

“This report confirmed what witnesses have told this committee: the Taliban was executing civilians outside the airport. The executions caused mass chaos around the airport as large and desperate crowds of civilians sought to flee, creating a deadly operating environment for U.S. servicemembers at the gates amid significant ISIS-K threats. The report also finally reveals the identity of the Abbey Gate bomber as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an ISIS-K terrorist who was freed from the Bagram prison by the Taliban.

“With this report revealing the Biden administration has been sitting on critical information about what happened during the emergency evacuation from Afghanistan, it is clear there are many more questions to be answered. I am absolutely determined to see this investigation through to completion and will leave no stone unturned.”

To learn more about Chairman McCaul’s investigation into the Afghanistan withdrawal and subsequent emergency evacuation, click here.

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