Afghan Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Case Tied to Kabul Airport Bombing
Mohammad Sharifullah convicted of providing material support to ISIS-K, which claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 13 U.S. service members.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Islamic State group member has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for aiding the terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service members and approximately 160 Afghans during the chaotic American withdrawal from the country five years ago.
A federal jury in Virginia convicted Mohammad Sharifullah in April of providing material support to the IS affiliate known as ISIS-K. However, the jurors could not reach a unanimous decision on whether he bore some responsibility for the August 26, 2021, airport bombing.
U.S. troops were conducting an evacuation operation at Hamid Karzai International Airport when a lone suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device near an entry point known as Abbey Gate. Prosecutors stated that Sharifullah's role involved scouting a route to the airport.
Sharifullah received the maximum sentence for his one-count conviction in an international terrorism case. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga imposed the sentence, describing the defendant as a “dedicated terrorist” who showed no remorse for the “unfathomable” grief and suffering caused.
Victim impact statements were delivered by several parents of U.S. service members. Mark Schmitz, father of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, told Sharifullah, “They may have taken his life, but they'll never take his legacy. A bomb killed my son. It did not kill what he stood for.”
Defense attorneys argued that the government was unable to prove Sharifullah's participation in the Abbey Gate attack. Prosecutors countered in their sentencing memo that Sharifullah's actions were driven by “hate towards Americans” since he pledged allegiance to ISIS-K in his teenage years.
Jurors convicted Sharifullah of providing material support to ISIS-K. They were deadlocked on the question of whether any deaths at the airport resulted from that conspiracy, a question that could have led to a possible life sentence if unanimously decided.
Prosecutors allege Sharifullah expressed a desire to “catch and kill the crusaders” from the United States for invading his country after the September 11, 2001, attacks. They also claim Sharifullah was involved in dozens of other attacks, including a March 2024 assault on a Moscow concert hall that killed about 140 people.
Defense lawyers contended that prosecutors presented no evidence tying Sharifullah to the Kabul bombing beyond his own statements to FBI agents, suggesting he may have said what he believed they wanted to hear due to fear of torture in Pakistani custody.
According to an FBI affidavit and a review by U.S. Central Command, the Abbey Gate bomber was identified as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an IS member who had been released from an Afghan prison by the Taliban. Sharifullah reportedly recognized al-Logari as an operative he had known while incarcerated.