Taliban Kill Mastermind Of Suicide Bombing

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the Taliban have killed the Islamic State group militant who spearheaded the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that left 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans dead during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Initially, neither the U.S. — nor apparently the Taliban — were aware that the mastermind was dead. Officials say he was killed during a series of battles early this month in southern Afghanistan between the Taliban and the Islamic State group’s affiliate. But in the past few days, U.S. intelligence confirmed “with high confidence” that the Islamic State leader had been killed.