Mohammad Sharifullah, linked to the August 2021 Abbey Gate suicide bombing at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, was extradited to the United States and ordered to remain in custody on Wednesday. The attack, which occurred during the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, claimed the lives of 13 American service members and approximately 170 Afghan civilians.
Sharifullah made his initial court appearance in Alexandria, Virginia, where a formal detention hearing was scheduled for Monday. Wearing a blue jail jumpsuit, he was informed that he faces a potential life sentence if convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation. He used an interpreter during the proceedings, and attorneys stated that he lacks assets and requires a federal public defender.
Following the hearing, FBI Director Kash Patel shared a photo of Sharifullah in custody on social media.
U.S. officials described Sharifullah as a regional commander for Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) and one of two masterminds behind the bombing. A senior defence official told CBS News that he was captured about 10 days ago in a joint operation between Pakistani intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed in a statement that the operation took place in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
President Trump announced Sharifullah’s arrest during his Tuesday night address to a joint session of Congress, where he also thanked the Pakistani government.
Axios was the first to report Sharifullah’s name.
A senior Taliban official, speaking to CBS News, denied knowledge of any Afghan national named Mohammad Sharifullah linked to the attack. “Right now, we have two Tajik nationals named Sharifullah in … custody. They have been sentenced to long-term imprisonment and were involved in the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing … and other attacks,” the official said.
According to the Pentagon, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at one of the airport’s entrances, where thousands had gathered daily in a desperate attempt to flee the city after the Taliban’s takeover.
In response to the attack, then-President Biden vowed retaliation, declaring, “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”
While campaigning, Mr. Trump had harshly criticised both Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris for their handling of the withdrawal. During Tuesday’s address to Congress, Biden again condemned his predecessor, arguing that the chaotic exit from Afghanistan contributed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A 2024 Department of Defense review identified the bomber as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an ISIS-K operative. The report reiterated previous findings that the attack “could not have been preventable at the tactical level.”
