ISIS terrorist who killed US troops in Kabul was one of the terrorists released in Bagram
The ISIS terrorist who killed 13 U.S. troops and killed at least 169 Afghan nationals was freed from Bagram prison after U.S. forces abandoned the area during President Joe Biden’s disastrous pullout from Afghanistan.
Indian media Firstpost reported, “Senior Indian intelligence sources familiar with the case have told Firstpost that he was handed over to the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency by the Research and Analysis Wing in September 2017. However, the jihadist walked free on 15 August along with thousands of other dangerous terrorists held in the high-security prison, taking advantage of the chaos that ensued in the aftermath of the United State’s hurried exit and the Taliban’s swift takeover of the entire country.”
The report said the terrorist was a former engineering student in India but was previously arrested for staging suicide bombings in New Delhi. The terrorist used his studies as a cover to enter the country.
“America’s disorganized retreat from Afghanistan has led to hundreds of highly-competent and highly-committed terrorists being set free to rejoin the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups,” an Indian intelligence officer, who allegedly worked on the case involving this specific terrorist, told the publication. “Literally a decade’s work on counter-terrorism has been undone by the US’ failure to secure key prisoners in Bagram.”
The report suggested that the CIA alerted Indian authorities after intercepting messages between the terrorist and ISIS leadership discussing attacks they were planning. The terrorist was then handed over to the U.S. for the CIA’s investigation, which allegedly gathered a significant amount of information used to eliminate “multiple Islamic State leaders in United States drone strikes.”
Business Insider reported:
Thousands of inmates, including former Islamic State and al-Qaeda fighters, were released from a prison on the outskirts of Kabul — Pul-e-Charkhi — as well as another facility at Bagram airbase as the Taliban called for a “peaceful transition” of power.
Afghan government troops surrendered Bagram airbase, located north of Kabul, to the Taliban early on Sunday. The base houses Parwan Detention Facility, which had around 5,000 prisoners.
Prisoners leaving Kabul jail after being broken out by Taliban. pic.twitter.com/B84F2UrtEA
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) August 15, 2021
Gen. Austin Miller, the Commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan from 2018 through July of this year warned the Biden administration against withdrawing all forces from Afghanistan, disagreeing with estimates that the Afghan military could hold off the Taliban for 1-3 years, instead claiming the country would fall significantly faster to the Taliban.
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich reported Millers’ remarks he made last week during a classified Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
“Miller also said once his recommendation was turned down, it became his job to execute on the withdrawal order – and eventually, decisions like abandoning Bagram were made because of constraints and troop caps imposed by the President’s orders,” Heinrich wrote on Twitter.
Miller also said that he strongly dissented with the intel assessment that Afghanistan would fall to the Taliban between 1-3 years, saying he thought it would go much, much faster.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) September 15, 2021
Ian Miles Cheong
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