Combat· Kabul NEO (Op ALLIES REFUGE)
Abbey Gate Bombing
The Abbey Gate bombing was a suicide attack at one of the entrances to Kabul's airport during the evacuation, when a bomber detonated explosives in the dense crowd of Afghans pressed against the gate where Marines and other troops were processing those seeking to flee the country. The blast killed and wounded many Afghan civilians and struck the American service members at the gate, the great majority of the fallen being Marines of the unit conducting the evacuation, in the deadliest single incident for the Corps in the entire Afghan war. The Marines at the gate, who had been doing the agonizing work of screening and admitting evacuees amid an overwhelming crush of desperate people, bore the brunt of the attack. The bombing was a devastating loss at the very end of the long war, a tragedy that struck Marines engaged in a humanitarian mission. It remains one of the most painful episodes of the Corps' service in Afghanistan.
Record no. 832