(Washington) The United States denies any involvement in the Taliban-led operation to eliminate the mastermind of the Kabul airport suicide bombing in August 2021, the White House reiterated on Wednesday.
“We had nothing to do with it,” John Kirby, spokesman for the US executive’s National Security Council, told reporters, rejecting the idea that Washington could have provided information or any help. directly or indirectly, to the Taliban in this operation.
Tuesday evening, the American authorities confirmed the death of the jihadist at the origin of this attack, which had killed at least 173 people, including 13 American soldiers.
The man, whose identity has not been specified, was one of the leaders of the Islamic State-Khorasan (EI-K) group present in Afghanistan and was killed during a “Taliban operation” they clarified, without giving more details on the circumstances of the maneuver. The Taliban did not comment on this operation.
John Kirby did not specify how US intelligence obtained the information of his death.
“There is no debating that it is a good thing that this man is no longer able to plan, plan and carry out attacks,” he said.
PHOTO SUSAN WALSH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
National Security Council spokesman for the US executive, John Kirby.
According to him, this information demonstrates the effectiveness of the new American counter-terrorism strategy.
“We’ve really worked hard to increase our remote working capabilities since the pullout from Afghanistan,” he said, saying it’s not just conducting strikes from outside the country, but also “being able to see, know and watch things”.
On July 31, 2022, US forces killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on his balcony in Afghanistan via a US drone strike.
“We have proven, I think, that even though it is more difficult in some places, not being on the ground does not make it impossible,” he continued, adding that “there is no you don’t have to stay on a particular battlefield to pursue terrorists”.
The attack on August 26, 2021 near Kabul airport occurred at the time of the hasty withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, which drew widespread criticism.
The images of the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghans shocked the United States and went around the world.
This withdrawal ended the longest military intervention of the United States started in response to the attack of September 11, 2001.
Since the Taliban took power in 2021, the United States has had only limited direct communication with local authorities and no longer has a diplomatic presence on Afghan soil.