Pentagon officials have confirmed that the Taliban in early April killed the ISIS-K leader who plotted the August 2021 suicide attack at Kabul International Airport in which 13 U.S. service members were killed.

The U.S. was not involved in the operation, and the Pentagon did not identify the ISIS-K leader who was killed.

ISIS-K refers to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan, the terror organization’s affiliate in Afghanistan and the surrounding region. 

Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri, the suicide bomber who killed 13 troops and more than 170 Afghans outside Kabul airport, had been released from prison by the Taliban after they had regained control of the country.

He triggered the bomb outside the airport’s Abbey Gate as U.S. troops were attempting to coordinate an evacuation of Afghans during the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from the country.

The now-ruling Taliban has attempted to crack down on ISIS-K operations in Afghanistan, with limited success.

The Defense Department insisted late Tuesday that it maintains “multifaceted capabilities to monitor and disrupt ISIS-K and other potential threats to our citizens and our interests.”

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families of our 13 service members lost at Abbey Gate, whose courageous service and sacrifice for our nation will always be remembered,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.