The United States denies any involvement in an operation carried out by the Taliban to eliminate a jihadist believed to be the mastermind of a suicide attack near Kabul airport in August 2021, the White House confirmed on Wednesday, writes AFP.

“We had nothing to do with it,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, dismissing the idea that Washington could have provided information or any assistance, directly or indirectly, to the Taliban in the operation.

On Tuesday evening, US authorities confirmed the death of a jihadist in the attack, which killed at least 173 people, including 13 US soldiers.

The person, whose identity has not been released, was one of the leaders of the Islamic State-Khorasan (SI-K) group and was killed during a “Taliban operation”, they said, without giving further details about the circumstances of the operation.

The Taliban did not comment on this operation.

John Kirby did not specify how the American special services received information about his death.

“It is certainly a good thing that this person is no longer capable of preparing, planning and carrying out attacks,” he said.

In his opinion, this information testifies to the effectiveness of the new American strategy to fight terrorism.

“We’ve worked hard to increase our remote capabilities since we got out of Afghanistan,” the spokesman stressed, adding that it’s not just about conducting strikes outside the country, but also about “being able to see, know and control things.” .

On July 31, 2022, US forces killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on his balcony in Afghanistan in a US drone strike.

“I think we’ve proven that even though it’s harder in some places, not being on the ground doesn’t make it impossible,” he continued, adding that “you don’t have to stay in a certain war zone to track and kill terrorists.”

The attack, which took place on August 26, 2021, near the Kabul airport, occurred at the time of the hasty withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, which caused a lot of criticism.

Images of the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghans at the Kabul airport shocked the United States and went viral around the world.

The withdrawal ended the United States’ longest military intervention since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Since the Taliban seized power in 2021, the United States has had only limited direct communication with local authorities and no longer has a diplomatic presence on Afghan soil.