Afghan charged in 2021 Kabul attack that killed 13 US service members
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Charged over violating terrorism statutes, Afghan national Mohammad Sharifullah appeared in federal court in Virginia and a preliminary hearing was set for March 10.
PHOTO: AFP
Adam Goldman
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested an Afghan national charged with playing a role in the deadly 2021 attack on US service members as they carried out a tumultuous evacuation of civilians at Afghanistan’s main airport, the Justice Department announced on March 5.
The man, Mohammad Sharifullah, is accused of helping a suicide bomber approach the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul that August without being detected. The horrific attack killed 13 US military service members and injured approximately 160 civilians.
Sharifullah was flown back to the United States early on March 5 and charged over violating terrorism statutes. He appeared later that day in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, and a preliminary hearing was set for March 10. If convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison.
Officials said the United States had provided intelligence to Pakistan that led to Sharifullah’s capture. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan said that Sharifullah had been arrested by Pakistani security forces in the border region with Afghanistan. FBI director Kash Patel said the Central Intelligence Agency had provided assistance in Sharifullah’s case.
In an interview on March 2 with FBI agents from the Washington field office, Sharifullah admitted he was a member of the Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K, a US-designated terrorist group.
The attack took place at what was known as the Abbey Gate, the entry point to the airport for thousands of civilians hoping to flee Afghanistan as the Taliban took hold of the country. The military had been warned about the possibility of terror attacks at the airport, which had fuelled intense criticisms of the Biden administration and the chaotic US withdrawal.
When FBI agents interviewed Sharifullah, he said he had scouted the attacker’s route to the Kabul airport. He also admitted to knowing the ISIS-K operative who blew himself up.
The FBI said that Sharifullah had acknowledged helping carry out other attacks on behalf of ISIS-K, including a 2016 suicide attack on the Canadian Embassy in Kabul. Sharifullah also claimed knowledge of a March 2024 attack at a music venue near Moscow that killed about 130 people. NYTIMES
