Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement commemorating the fifth anniversary of the deadly suicide bombing at Abbey Gate during the Kabul airport evacuation on Aug. 28, calling for accountability for those responsible for the attack.
The bombing, which occurred Aug. 26, 2021, killed 13 U.S. service members and approximately 170 Afghan civilians. The Taliban remains in control of Afghanistan, and no U.S. military accountability proceedings related to the bombing have been publicly completed.
The Abbey Gate attack was carried out by an ISIS-K suicide bomber who detonated explosives in a crowd of Afghans and U.S. Marines processing evacuees. It was the deadliest single incident for American forces in Afghanistan since 2011.
The 13 service members killed included 11 Marines, one Navy corpsman, and one Army soldier, ranging in age from 20 to 31. Their deaths became a focal point for congressional scrutiny of the chaotic August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Gold Star families of the fallen service members have called for more thorough investigations into the decisions surrounding the Abbey Gate security posture and the broader evacuation operation.
The anniversary has served as a recurring point for congressional debate over Afghanistan withdrawal accountability. Multiple congressional hearings have examined the withdrawal, though families and lawmakers have said key questions remain unanswered.
The secretary-level statement on the anniversary carries weight with veterans groups and families who have sought sustained attention to the attack’s circumstances even as public focus has shifted to other national security priorities.