The Kabul Tribune (KT) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the Islamic State Khorasan Province suicide bomber who carried out the deadly 2021 attack at Kabul’s airport was among thousands of prisoners released by the Taliban after they seized Bagram air base.
Trump made the claim in a proclamation marking the fifth anniversary of the Aug. 26, 2021, bombing at Abbey Gate, which killed 13 U.S. service members and wounded dozens of others during the chaotic U.S.-led evacuation from Afghanistan.
Trump said the bomber entered a crowd at Abbey Gate at 5:36 p.m. and detonated an explosive vest.
“The terrorist was one of the thousands of prisoners released by the Taliban just 2 months earlier,” Trump said.
According to the proclamation, the attack killed 13 U.S. service members and wounded 45. Trump also said more than 160 civilians were injured.
Trump designated Aug. 26, 2026, as a day of remembrance for those killed in the attack and called honoring the service members a “sacred duty.”
“On the fifth anniversary of the attack at Abbey Gate, we solemnly honor their selflessness and valor,” Trump said.
The proclamation named the 13 service members killed in the bombing, including members of the Army, Marine Corps and Navy.
Trump also used the anniversary to renew his criticism of former President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which ended America’s 20-year military involvement in the country.
Trump accused Biden of “squandering” gains made during the war, putting “politics over strategy” and carrying out a rushed withdrawal that he called “one of the worst military disasters in our Nation’s history.”
Trump specifically criticized the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Bagram Airfield on July 2, 2021, saying it was carried out at night without notifying Afghan security forces. He said the decision resulted in the loss of the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, along with military equipment and strategic advantages.
The Taliban later captured Bagram as it rapidly expanded control across Afghanistan. Trump said the group then “freed thousands of terrorists and criminals from its prisons.”
The Taliban seized Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021, prompting a massive U.S.-led evacuation from Hamid Karzai International Airport. Thousands of Afghans gathered outside the airport in hopes of securing a place on evacuation flights.
The Abbey Gate bombing occurred amid the evacuation and was claimed by ISIS-K, the regional affiliate of the Islamic State militant group.
Trump also highlighted his administration’s capture of an ISIS-K suspect accused by U.S. authorities of involvement in the attack.
“I was proud to apprehend the ISIS-K terrorist responsible for the atrocity and bring him to face the swift sword of American justice,” Trump said.
Trump pledged to support U.S. service members and military families and said his administration would work to prevent a repeat of the circumstances surrounding the Abbey Gate attack.
“On this solemn anniversary, we renew our sacred promise to the 13 fallen service members and their families that we will always remember their names, cherish their memory, and never forget the price they paid for our country,” Trump said.
