The Pentagon confirmed on Aug. 27 that a suicide bomber carried out the attack and denied that there was no second explosion.
“We are not sure how that report was provided incorrectly, but we know it’s not any surprise that in the confusion of a very dynamic event, it can cause information to sometimes be misreported or garbled,” U.S. Army Major General Hank Taylor told reporters. “We felt it was important to correct the record with you all here.”
Founded in 2015, Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, is a sworn enemy of the Taliban and the United States. Until the airport attack, ISIS-K had been quiet since Kabul was taken over by the Taliban on Aug. 15.
Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the CENTCOM commander, said on Aug. 26 shortly after the attack that he expected further ISIS-K attacks targeting the airport, which may include rockets or car bombs.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said that it was conducting a “Taliban investigation” into the ISIS-K attack.
Since Aug. 15, crowds have flooded to the gates of Kabul airport, desperate for help from U.S. allies to leave the country.
Mujahid told reporters in Kabul on Aug. 24 that they want all foreign evacuations to be completed by Aug. 31 and will accept “no extensions” to the deadline.
Credit to Epochtime