Taliban Kill Suspected 'Mastermind' Of 2021 Kabul Airport Bombing, Say US Officials

The United States on Tuesday said that the Taliban have eliminated an Islamic State militant who allegedly was the "mastermind" behind a suicide attack at Kabul's international airport in 2021.

New Delhi: The United States on Tuesday said that the Taliban killed an Islamic State militant who allegedly was the "mastermind" behind a suicide attack at Kabul's international airport in 2021. The attack caused the deaths of 13 US troops and numerous civilians during the United States' chaotic evacuation from the country, Reuters cited US officials as saying.

The 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 before the US officially ended its 20-year presence.

"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," White House spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement, referring to the Abbey Gate entrance to the Kabul airport where the blast occurred, reported Reuters. 

The IS leader, whose identity has not yet been released, was killed in southern Afghanistan in early April as the Taliban conducted a series of operations against the Islamic State group, the Associated Press reported citing one of the officials.

The Taliban at the time were not aware of the identity of the person they killed, the official added.

After the Trump administration reached a 2020 deal with the Taliban to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan and the Biden administration followed through on that agreement in 2021, 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 behavior, according to AP.

But 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.

Reuters reported that the Afghan affiliate of Islamic State, known as Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K, after an old region name, 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.