- 13 members of the US service were killed in the bombing.
- Trump thanks Pakistan for helping to apprehend “monster”.
- An activist would have attracted the help of the CIA.
The United States (United States), President Donald Trump, thanked the Pakistani government on Wednesday for understanding the “best terrorists” involved in the bombing of Kabul 2021 airport.
“Three and a half years ago, terrorists (DAESH) killed 13 members of the American service and countless others in the abbey attack,” said Trump during his speech to a joint session of the congress.
The attack marked a tragic end to the longest American war in Afghanistan, affirming the lives of 13 members of the American services and around 170 Afghans who desperately tried to escape Kabul after the Taliban takeover.
Trump, in his speech which was the longest of any president, an hour and 49 minutes, revealed: “Tonight, I am happy to announce that we have just learned the best terrorist responsible for this atrocity. And he is underway here to face the rapid sword of American justice.”
After a brief break and a salvo of applause, he thanked the government of Pakistan for helping to apprehend the “monster” and added that it was “a very huge day for affected families.
“It was a very important day for these 13 families, which I really known, whose children were murdered. What a horrible day,” said Trump, who became the 47th president in January.
Who is the terrorist?
A news agency reported that Pakistan had arrested the Daesh commander on the basis of the information provided by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
According to the news agency, Muhammad Sharifullah is one of Daesh leaders suspected of planning the attack. He is also known as Jafar.
Pakistani intelligence agencies would have apprehended it and is now transferred to the United States. The agency also said that the activist would be taken to the United States on Wednesday.
An American official told the news agency that Sharifullah was the brain behind the August 26 attack. The report also claims that after having assumed his duties, President Trump ordered the director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, to prioritize the capture of managers of the bombing of the abbey.
It is alleged that Ratcliffe raised the case with senior Pakistani officials just one day after taking office and then discussed it with a senior Pakistani security official at the Munich Security Conference in February.
However, when the news agency contacted the Pakistani Embassy in Washington for an answer, officials refused to comment.
Criticism of Afghan withdrawal
Trump turned his weapons on his predecessor, Joe Biden, and mentioned that the attack had occurred during the “disastrous and incompetent” withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Noting that he does not criticize withdrawal, but rather the way in which it was carried out. “Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country (…) such incompetence has been shown.”
In 2023, the administration of the president of the time, Biden, blamed the Trump administration for the deadly and chaotic withdrawal, arguing that the government in office was “seriously limited” by Trump’s decisions.
He admitted that the evacuation of the Americans and allies of Afghanistan should have started earlier, but attributed the delays to the government and the Afghan soldiers, as well as evaluations of the military community and the American intelligence.