Government insiders and Tory MPs are said to have accused the US of trying to ‘shift the blame’ following the horrifying terror attack last week
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Pentagon leaks claim the US kept open a Kabul airport gate to help with the British evacuation effort despite a high risk of attack, it has been reported.
Some government insiders and Tory MPs are said to have accused the US of trying to ‘shift the blame’ following the horrifying terror attack last week.
On Thursday two suicide bombs were detonated outside Kabul’s airport killing 13 US troops and as many as 169 Afghans.
US President Joe Biden vowed that the US would hunt down those responsible for the attack, saying he had ordered the Pentagon to come up with plans to strike at the perpetrators.
The nation went on to launch a deadly drone strike against Islamic State-Khorasan (ISK) who claimed responsibility for the slaughter.
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New leaks, obtained by Politico, claim that before the massacre senior military chiefs had warned of a an imminent ‘mass casualty event.’
Kabul commanders said that Abbey Gate, where American citizens had been told to gather to gain entrance to the airport, was the “highest risk” from an ISK attack.
It was said that US forces chose to keep the gate open longer than they wanted to allow Brit allies to continue evacuating their personnel.
The Sun reports that the episode has since been referred to as a ‘blame game’ by some.
Tobias Ellwood, a Tory MP and chairman of the defence select committee, said it was ‘an unhelpful blame game’ which shows the relationship between the US and UK at a ‘low ebb.’
A government source said: “The US is having to explain the total mess that has been the evacuation. There’s clearly some hard briefing going on.”
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Another government source did not recognise the briefing and said: “We understood the severity of the situation; we changed the travel advice.
“If they had closed Abbey Gate we would have been totally supportive.”
The source was said to be unaware of any British request to keep the gate open.
Responding to the leaks the Pentagon told Politico in a statement: “This story is based on the unlawful disclosure of classified information and internal deliberations of a sensitive nature.
“As soon as we became aware of the material divulged to the reporter, we engaged Politico at the highest levels to prevent the publication of information that would put our troops and our operations at the airport at greater risk.
“We condemn the unlawful disclosure of classified information and oppose the publication of a story based on it while a dangerous operation is ongoing.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “We continue to offer our full support to our closest ally.”
