WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement in response to press reports about the death of a key ISIS-K member involved in the Abbey Gate bombing of 2021, who was killed in a Taliban-led operation on April 4, 2023:

“The United States must always retain the capability to punish those who have American blood on their hands. Unfortunately, because of President Biden’s disastrous and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States’ ability to conduct counter-terror operations has been severely degraded,” Wicker said.

“It is an abdication of leadership for this Administration to rely on a terrorist group to execute other terrorists, especially as Afghanistan once again becomes a hotbed for international extremism. The U.S. has to rebuild its capability to strike at will within the region, or we are potentially putting American lives at risk.”