According to the National Security Council, the Taliban killed the ISIS-K leader who planned the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul’s Abbey Gate in 2021.

The administration did not name the ISIS-K leader, but John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, called him “the mastermind of the horrific attack,” which was carried out in the final days of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. ISIS-K has suffered a number of high-profile leadership losses this year, but Kirby did not specify when the Taliban killed its leader.

Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri, who carried out the suicide bombing, had only been released from prison days before the Taliban took control of the area. The attack killed 13 US service members and more than 170 Afghans.

The terror organization’s affiliate in Afghanistan and the surrounding region is ISIS-K. Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have attempted to crack down on ISIS-K throughout the country, but has not succeeded in destroying it.


It shows the limitations of the US’ ability to conduct operations in Afghanistan following the withdrawal that the terror leader was killed by the Taliban, a group it fought nearly two decades against.

According to US Central Command commander Erik Kurilla, our campaign against Al Qaeda and ISIS Khorasan is being challenged because of the reduction in collection, analytical resources, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance assets; while we can see the broad contours of attack planning, we lack the granularity to see the complete threat picture.”

It had increased its attacks in the region and was planning attacks outside of Afghanistan against the US homeland and American interests abroad, according to him.

While the administration did not identify the leader of ISIS-K, John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, described him as “the mastermind of the horrific attack,” which took place during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Taliban killed the ISIS-K leader this year, Kirby said, but did not specify when it occurred. The Taliban have suffered a series of high-profile leadership losses this year, he said.