Marking five years since the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members

What this proclamation does

• Declares August 26, 2026 a day of commemoration for the fifth anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack in Kabul, Afghanistan.
• Names the 13 U.S. service members killed in the attack and urges Americans to remember their sacrifice and support Gold Star Families.

Key facts in the text

• Date and time of the attack: August 26, 2021 at about 5:36 p.m.
• Casualties reported in the proclamation: 13 American service members killed, 45 wounded, and more than 160 civilians injured.

Claims and context included in the proclamation

• The proclamation attributes the conditions that allowed the attack to the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, cites the July 2, 2021 Bagram Airfield withdrawal, and says the Taliban freed prisoners who included the attacker.
• It states the President "apprehended the ISIS-K terrorist responsible" and frames the proclamation as a renewal of a promise to remember the fallen.

Why this matters

• The proclamation sets a federal day of remembrance and records specific casualty counts and historical claims about the 2021 withdrawal and Kabul evacuation as presented by the President in the text.