Nine Republican members of the US Congress have asked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to investigate discrepancies between the CNN report and the Department of Defense (DoD) investigation of the suicide attack in August 2021 at Kabul International Airport and its immediate aftermath.
CNN reported claims that some Afghans killed in the explosion were shot by US marines, but the Pentagon investigations have denied this.
Kabul 24: The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) also said that in the suicide attack, many people died as a result of gunshots, contradicting the Pentagon’s findings.
Concerns Raised by Experts
“America unexpectedly left Afghan soil. They should have ensured full security at the airport so that such a tragic event would not have occurred,” said Sadiq Shinwarai, a military analyst.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, stated, “We found evidence that after the attack, shooting at Afghans had occurred and it was seen that some martyrs and injured had been shot at, which is why the casualty figures from the incident also increased.”
Pentagon’s Investigations
The Pentagon had stated in its two investigations in 2022 that shooting by American and British forces after the explosion had taken place, but no one had been hit.
The Deadly Attack
The suicide attack, claimed by ISIS-K, occurred on August 26, 2021, as thousands of Afghans had gathered at Kabul airport to leave the country.
The attack and the alleged shooting afterward resulted in the death of 170 Afghans and 13 American forces
