No evidence suggests that Marine snipers witnessed the Abbey Gate suicide bomber prior to the attack.

The Marine sniper team at Abbey Gate did not have the suicide bomber in its sights before the attack that resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members during the chaotic Afghan withdrawal in 2021, according to a new supplemental review by U.S. Central Command.

An updated review, published on Monday, incorporated testimonies from 50 additional eyewitnesses who were present or had direct knowledge of the Kabul bombing, including 12 service members who were not included in the initial investigation due to medical evacuation or treatment.

Despite subsequent testimony and recollections, the review determined that the sniper team guarding Abbey Gate did not have the suicide bomber in its sights.

The fog of war may have impacted their recollections of the distressing incident, according to a review of the evidence.

The sniper team had the bomber in their sights but were not given permission to shoot, according to members of the team. Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, ordered a supplemental investigation after testimony from survivors on Capitol Hill who believed they could have prevented the attack.

The U.S. Army Central Command was assigned to investigate any new evidence or information that could contradict the conclusions of the initial report on the bombing that resulted in the deaths of 13 Americans.

The investigation into the bombing concluded in November 2021 and was publicly released in February 2022.

A screenshot of the video stream from the sniper scope of the Marine unit guarding the gate is displayed in this new review.

The video depicts a suspicious bald man in black who was suspected of being the suicide bomber by some Marines. The two Marine snipers spotted him at 7 a.m. on Aug. 26, but lost sight of him at 10 a.m. The blast occurred at 5:36 p.m.

In March 2023, Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the suicide bomber he saw responsible for the attack. He stated that he was instructed to stand down before the explosion.

"A potential threat and an imminent IED attack was detected over the communication network. This was as serious as it could get," Vargas-Andrews stated, describing the suspected suicide bomber as clean-shaven and dressed in brown with a black vest.

According to Vargas-Andrews, his battalion commander responded "I don’t know" when he requested permission to shoot.

Vargas-Andrews was not interviewed in the original Abbey Gate investigation due to being treated for traumatic injuries, including the amputation of his right arm and entire left leg following the attack.

The suicide bomber in the video released by ISIS is identified as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, who had a beard and appeared to be significantly younger than the man the sniper team saw.

The "bald man in black" identified by Vargas-Andrews and his sniper team was found to be a different person from al-Logari, according to a new review that gave them the "strongest negative result" in facial comparisons.

On Aug. 26, the sniper team started observing al-Logari at 7 a.m., but post-attack intelligence reports revealed that he arrived at Abbey Gate only moments before the attack.

The new review corroborates the findings of the initial Abbey Gate investigation, which concluded that no particular individual was identified as the bomber until after the attack. According to U.S. intelligence, al-Logari, a member of ISIS-K, was determined to be the suicide bomber a few hours later.

Since the attack, multiple intelligence agencies have independently confirmed that al-Logari was the suicide bomber, as the U.S. had biometric information on him due to his time at Bagram prison in Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, investigators of the review briefed together the families of the 13 service members killed in the attack and several U.S. service members who survived the attack.

The CENTCOM spokesperson stated that their focus remains on fulfilling their obligations to the Abbey Gate Gold Star Families. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and General Erik Kurilla have been briefed on the results of the review.

On Aug. 26, 2021, 13 U.S. service members, including 11 Marines, one soldier, and one sailor, and 170 Afghan civilians were killed at Abbey Gate, just days before the end of the chaotic Afghan withdrawal.

More than 150 Afghan civilians and 15 U.S. service members were injured when a bomb detonated at Abbey Gate, which is located near Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport.