The Department of Defense will conduct new interviews with United States troops who witnessed the bombing in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of 13 service members during the final days of the military's two decades in the country.
Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla, the commander of U.S. Central Command, formally directed United States Army Central (ARCENT) Commander Lt. Gen. Pat Frank to review public testimony from troops in early June who have spoken publicly about the tragedy in recent months. U.S. Central Command spokesman Michael Lawhorn confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Friday that Frank would be conducting new interviews as it relates to the Aug. 26, 2021 bombing.
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ARCENT completed its investigation into the bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops, injured dozens more, and killed roughly 170 Afghan civilians, in November 2021. Frank also identified additional service members who were wounded in the attack that had not been interviewed for the initial investigation because they had been medically evacuated immediately. The Washington Post first reported news of the new interviews.
“As a result of the review, Gen. Kurilla has formally directed Lt. Gen. Frank to conduct interviews with these service members and other personnel, as necessary," Lawhorn explained. "The purpose of these interviews is to ensure we do our due diligence with the new information that has come to light, that the relevant voices are fully heard, and that we take those accounts and examine them seriously and thoroughly so the facts are clear. These interviews will seek to determine whether those not previously interviewed due to their immediate medical evacuation possess new information not previously considered, and whether such new information, if any, would affect the results of the investigation, and to ensure their personal accounts are captured for historical documentation."
Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews emotionally recounted the bombing, in which he lost an arm and a leg, when he appeared in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March. He told lawmakers that he believed he identified a suspect who met the intelligence description they had of the would-be bomber but that his commanding officer did not give him the green light to engage the target.
"Throughout the entirety of the day on August 26, 2021, we disseminated the suicide bomber information to ground forces at Abbey Gate ... Over the communication network, we passed that there was a potential threat and an attack imminent. This was as serious as it could get," he explained at the hearing. "Eventually, the individual disappeared. To this day, we believe he was a suicide bomber. We made everyone on the ground aware. Operations had briefly halted but then started again. Plain and simple, we were ignored. Our expertise was disregarded. No one was held accountable for our safety."
Gen. Frank McKenzie, Kurilla's predecessor who was in the position at the time of the withdrawal, told the Washington Examiner in March that he was "not aware of any reporting from any source any time that would corroborate" Vargas-Andrews' testimony.
Vargas-Andrews was not interviewed as a part of the initial investigation, Lawhorn acknowledged, and his public comments "contained new information not previously shared by any other witness."
The Department of Defense informed the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which is investigating the withdrawal, of the new interviews on Friday morning, according to a staffer with the committee.
"I’m pleased DOD is expanding its Abbey Gate investigation, but it should not have taken two years," Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner. "And it should not have taken both the Gold Star families and Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews speaking to our committee to make this happen.”
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Kurilla requested Frank update him on his progress within 90 days but encouraged him to take as much time as needed.
McCaul hosted many of the families of the 13 U.S. troops killed in the bombing for a roundtable event a couple of weeks ago. Many of them expressed frustration at both the administration and the military for a perceived lack of accountability for the circumstances that led to the bombing.