Taliban kills mastermind of Kabul airport suicide bombing

Pallbearers carry the casket of Marine Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, who was killed in the Kabul airport bombing.
(Image credit: Stephen Lam/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

The leader of the Islamic State cell that bombed the Kabul airport in August 2021, leaving 13 U.S. troops and close to 170 civilians dead, has been killed by the Taliban, senior U.S. officials told The New York Times and The Washington Post.

The official did not share the individual's name, only saying they had "high confidence" he was the mastermind of the airport attack, which took place as U.S. troops were evacuating people from Kabul following the Taliban's takeover. It isn't clear whether the Taliban purposely targeted the ISIS leader or if he was killed in a battle between the two groups, the Times reports. The U.S. was not involved in the operation, officials said.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.