Hegseth Anticipates Full Review of Kabul Airport Attack Circumstances by Mid-2026
August 27, 2025 U.S. Department of Defense
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he anticipates that a Defense Department special review panel looking into the circumstances surrounding the Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, should be ready to present its findings by sometime in mid-2026.
The attack, carried out by a bomber affiliated with ISIS-Khorasan and wearing an improvised explosive device, killed 13 U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians at Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate.
Hegseth spoke of the investigation yesterday in the White House’s Oval Office, shortly after President Donald J. Trump signed a proclamation commemorating the fourth anniversary of the attack while surrounded by Gold Star family members of the victims.
“On behalf of this beautiful group, on behalf of these families [and] on behalf of your loved ones who fought for our nation, America deserves answers as far as what happened in Afghanistan; the military needs to answer for what happened in Afghanistan,” Hegseth told the group.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2025/08/hegseth-anticipates-full-review-of-kabul-airport-attack-circumstances-by-mid-2026/