Bomber Behind Kabul Airport Attack Was Released From Prison ‘Just Days’ Beforehand: CNN Report

The suicide bomber behind the Aug. 26 attack outside the airport in the Afghan capital of Kabul “had been released from a prison near Kabul just days earlier when the Taliban took control of the area,” reported CNN on Wednesday, citing three U.S. officials, including Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA).

Calvert, according to the report, “had been briefed by national security officials.”

The suicide bomber, Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri – who was a member of the Islamic State’s branch in Central and South Asia, ISIS-K – “was released from the Parwan prison at Bagram airbase,” according to CNN. The United States abandoned the base amid the withdrawal.

According to the report:

The Parwan prison at Bagram, along with the Pul-e-Charkhi prison near Kabul, housed several hundred members of ISIS-K, as well as thousands of other prisoners when the Taliban took control of both facilities hours before taking over the capital with barely a shot fired in mid-August, a regional counter-terrorism source told CNN at the time. The Taliban emptied out both prisons, releasing their own members who had been imprisoned but also members of ISIS-K, which is the terror group’s affiliate in Afghanistan.

Eleven days later, on August 26, it was one of those prisoners who carried out the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate, killing the 13 US service members, including 11 Marines, one soldier and one sailor. They would be the last US troops killed in Afghanistan as part of America’s longest war.

As of Tuesday, one Marine injured in the attack remains in a serious but stable condition at Walter Reed Military Medical Center near Washington, the Marine Corps said in a statement. Another Marine is receiving care at a specialty facility, while 16 others are receiving outpatient treatment.

Watch above, via CNN.