Lawmakers Press Pentagon for Answers Over Terrorist Attack in Afghanistan That Killed 13 US Troops

Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin addresses a press conference at Ramstein Air Base, southwestern Germany, on April 21, 2023. (Andre Pain/AFP via Getty Images)

House Republicans are demanding answers from the Pentagon months after the terrorist attack at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and at least 169 Afghan civilians.

It comes after a former Marine who survived the Aug. 26, 2021 bombings testified to Congress in March that he was told not to fire at the suspected suicide bomber on the day, prior to the attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

House lawmakers said in a letter (pdf) to Pentagon officials on Thursday: “Marine Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a sniper badly wounded in the explosion, testified that his sniper team believed they identified the suicide bomber responsible for the attack earlier in the day.

“According to his testimony, Sergeant Vargas-Andrews and his team did not eliminate the threat due to their leadership’s uncertainty as to who held the authority to approve or deny engagement.”

The letter was signed by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It was addressed to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Battlefield decisions are often made in a cloud, but in honor of the lives lost and those still living following that terrible day, it is incumbent we learn whether events were avoidable and if uncertain procedures, broken lines of communication, or worse, contributed to the lack of engagement,” wrote Rogers and McCaul.

Questions

The two asked Austin and Milley a series of questions and requested documents related to the events of the day to “provide Congress a better understanding of these events.” They want answers by June 2.

Lloyd and Milley are being asked to describe in detail how authorities responded to Vargas-Andrews’s sniper team’s request to engage the suspected bomber. The Pentagon officials were asked to fully detail each step authorities took in considering the request, the outcome, and the reason for any decisions.

The bombings took place at or near the Abbey Gate, which sits on the eastern side of the airport, late on Aug. 26 local time. One bomb went off at the gate before at least one other exploded near the Baron Hotel, situated a short distance from the gate.

Among other requests, Pentagon officials were asked to produce “[a]ll documents and communications referencing or relating to the events at Abbey Gate on Aug. 26, 2021.” This includes all communications about the identity of the suspects behind the attack, as well as all video, audio, and photographs of the events around the area.

U.S. Marine Corps. Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 8, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Testimony

Vargas-Andrews said in his March 8 testimony that prior to the Kabul attack, intelligence had apparently disseminated a description of a suspected suicide bomber and his companion.

Vargas-Andrews said that he and another service member had, prior to the bombing, spotted two men who fit those descriptions—an impression that was confirmed by others at the airport.

When he tried to get permission to fire on the suspected suicide bomber, his battalion commander couldn’t confirm if he had permission, according to Vargas-Andrews. The man in question ultimately disappeared into the crowd.

“To this day, we believe he was the suicide bomber,” he testified.

Separately, Pentagon officials said on Feb. 5 that the Kabul bombing “was not preventable” and that leaders on the ground “followed the proper measures.”

Afghan evacuees queue before boarding one of the last Italy's military aircraft C130J during evacuation at Kabul's airport, Afghanistan, on Aug. 27, 2021. (Italian Ministry of Defence/Handout via Reuters)

Afghanistan Withdrawal

ISIS-K, a branch of the terrorist group ISIS, claimed responsibility for the Kabul airport attack. The deaths of 13 U.S. troops there mark the first U.S. military combat-related deaths in Afghanistan since February 2020.

In response to the bombing, the U.S. military launched a drone strike on Aug. 28, 2021, that it claimed had killed a member of ISIS-K. But the strike actually killed at least 10 innocent civilians, including seven children.

It came amid a rush to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan ahead of the Aug. 31, 2021 deadline, marking an end to a nearly 20-year-long war that American occupation in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

By Aug. 30, 2021, the troops withdrawal was complete, and more than 120,000 people were evacuated from Afghanistan during the effort, including U.S. citizens, Afghan allies, and other vulnerable Afghans.

Amid the withdrawal, Afghanistan was taken over by the Taliban terrorist group, on Aug. 15, 2021.

Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.