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Following the release of new video footage that contradicts the US military's investigation into the Abbey Gate suicide bombing during President Biden's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin requesting a further investigation.
The committee members are pressing for answers pertaining to 11 episodes of gunfire over the course of four minutes immediately after the suicide bomber attack, which was captured on a US marine’s helmet camera.
CENTCOM did not include the multiple counts of gunfire in its final April 15 report despite Colonel C.J. Douglas, a member of CENTCOM’s Abbey Gate Investigation team, recounting in February 2022 that there was “nearly simultaneous gunfire from three separate points, traveling across the frontage of servicemembers operating within a confined space.”
In addition to the suicide bomber, who was revealed to be a terrorist connected to ISIS-K, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is interested in learning if any other hostile foreign forces were engaged in the incident.
The letter signed by committee members Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-TX), Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) claims that the new video footage obtained by CNN “appears to directly contradict CENTCOM’s official results.”
“There has always been a great deal of confusion over the amount of small arms fire heard at Abbey Gate during the attack. Some servicemembers reported 'a mass volume' of gunfire, while others asserted that they were under fire from various locations, including a rooftop and a water tower,” the letter stated.
“In the last CENTCOM investigation, which was concluded on April 15, 2024, investigators examined three questions: 1) whether an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) test run occurred near Abbey Gate on August 21, 2021; 2) whether, before the attack occurred, service members identified in the crowd the suicide bomber who committed the attack; and 3) whether service members posted at or around Abbey Gate had an opportunity to engage the bomber prior to the attack.”
“The review also focused on the Taliban’s use of excessive force and the decision to consolidate the defensive perimeter around Abbey Gate before the attack. It also evaluated new information obtained since the original 15-6 investigation, concluded in November 2021.”
The April 15 report concluded, according to the letter, “The suicide bomber was not previously identified in the crowd, nor was there an opportunity for service members to engage him prior to the attack on August 26, 2021. The new information obtained during the review did not materially impact the findings in the November 2021 Abbey Gate 15-6 investigation and the supplemental review team did not recommend any modifications to those findings.”
“In February 2022, Colonel C.J. Douglas, a member of CENTCOM’s Abbey Gate Investigation team, said during a press briefing that there was 'nearly simultaneous gunfire from three separate points, traveling across the frontage of servicemembers operating within a confined space. That confined space caused an echo, which created the illusion of a firefight',” the letter continued.
“It is unclear what generated this CENTCOM data point of near-simultaneous gunfire, which appears to be directly contradicted by the video footage obtained by CNN, which shows 11 episodes of gunfire over nearly four minutes. However, after the release of the video, CENTCOM informed the House Foreign Affairs Committee that ‘neither the Investigation Team nor the Supplemental Review Team had seen the complete video prior to its publication by CNN on 24 April.’ Nevertheless, CENTCOM stated that the video did not contradict the findings of the Abbey Gate investigation,” the letter reads.
Additionally, the committee members have further questions including who was firing the rounds and whether it was the Taliban or another hostile force, clarification on the volume, incidence, and sources of gunfire at the scene, why the Afghan doctor referenced in the CNN article was not interviewed, and why journalists were able to obtain the new video footage but the DoD was not.
The Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan claimed the lives of 13 US servicemembers when a suicide bomber carried out an attack on August 26, 2021 during the evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
The committee members are pressing for answers pertaining to 11 episodes of gunfire over the course of four minutes immediately after the suicide bomber attack, which was captured on a US marine’s helmet camera.
CENTCOM did not include the multiple counts of gunfire in its final April 15 report despite Colonel C.J. Douglas, a member of CENTCOM’s Abbey Gate Investigation team, recounting in February 2022 that there was “nearly simultaneous gunfire from three separate points, traveling across the frontage of servicemembers operating within a confined space.”
In addition to the suicide bomber, who was revealed to be a terrorist connected to ISIS-K, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is interested in learning if any other hostile foreign forces were engaged in the incident.
The letter signed by committee members Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-TX), Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) claims that the new video footage obtained by CNN “appears to directly contradict CENTCOM’s official results.”
“There has always been a great deal of confusion over the amount of small arms fire heard at Abbey Gate during the attack. Some servicemembers reported 'a mass volume' of gunfire, while others asserted that they were under fire from various locations, including a rooftop and a water tower,” the letter stated.
“In the last CENTCOM investigation, which was concluded on April 15, 2024, investigators examined three questions: 1) whether an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) test run occurred near Abbey Gate on August 21, 2021; 2) whether, before the attack occurred, service members identified in the crowd the suicide bomber who committed the attack; and 3) whether service members posted at or around Abbey Gate had an opportunity to engage the bomber prior to the attack.”
“The review also focused on the Taliban’s use of excessive force and the decision to consolidate the defensive perimeter around Abbey Gate before the attack. It also evaluated new information obtained since the original 15-6 investigation, concluded in November 2021.”
The April 15 report concluded, according to the letter, “The suicide bomber was not previously identified in the crowd, nor was there an opportunity for service members to engage him prior to the attack on August 26, 2021. The new information obtained during the review did not materially impact the findings in the November 2021 Abbey Gate 15-6 investigation and the supplemental review team did not recommend any modifications to those findings.”
“In February 2022, Colonel C.J. Douglas, a member of CENTCOM’s Abbey Gate Investigation team, said during a press briefing that there was 'nearly simultaneous gunfire from three separate points, traveling across the frontage of servicemembers operating within a confined space. That confined space caused an echo, which created the illusion of a firefight',” the letter continued.
“It is unclear what generated this CENTCOM data point of near-simultaneous gunfire, which appears to be directly contradicted by the video footage obtained by CNN, which shows 11 episodes of gunfire over nearly four minutes. However, after the release of the video, CENTCOM informed the House Foreign Affairs Committee that ‘neither the Investigation Team nor the Supplemental Review Team had seen the complete video prior to its publication by CNN on 24 April.’ Nevertheless, CENTCOM stated that the video did not contradict the findings of the Abbey Gate investigation,” the letter reads.
Additionally, the committee members have further questions including who was firing the rounds and whether it was the Taliban or another hostile force, clarification on the volume, incidence, and sources of gunfire at the scene, why the Afghan doctor referenced in the CNN article was not interviewed, and why journalists were able to obtain the new video footage but the DoD was not.
The Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan claimed the lives of 13 US servicemembers when a suicide bomber carried out an attack on August 26, 2021 during the evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
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