(NewsNation) — Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, marks the fourth anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 service members and nearly 200 Afghans in 2021 during the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.
Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20, was one of the service members killed in the Abbey Gate bombing. His mother, Shana Chappell, told NewsNation that on the anniversary of the bombing, she “thinks about everything Kareem’s missed out on in the last four years and how that could have been prevented.”
Chappell expressed frustration with the lack of information surrounding the bombing, stating that “not knowing the whole story and being lied to … has made it a lot harder.”
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In May, Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth announced the Department of Defense would be conducting another review of the tragic bombing.
“We’re going into everything to get an understanding of what happened,” said Hagseth.
Chappell expressed support for the review: “Finally getting some answers, I think, will help.”
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On Monday, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation to honor the service members who lost their lives in the tragic event.
Trump has consistently criticized the Biden administration for its withdrawal, especially regarding the Abbey Gate bombing, referring to it in the proclamation as “the single most embarrassing display of American foreign policy in our nation’s history.”
When asked directly about what accountability for her son’s loss would look like, Chappell said, “people going to prison.”
