OMM Redaksiyası
Mohammad Sharifullah, who was linked to the Islamic State affiliate operating in Afghanistan, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United States. He was prosecuted in connection with the suicide attack at the Abbey Gate entrance to Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021.
A federal jury in Virginia found Sharifullah guilty in April of conspiring to provide material support to Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). However, the jurors could not reach an agreement on whether his support directly caused the deaths in the bombing.
According to the US Department of Justice, Sharifullah supported ISKP activities for about a decade and took part in more than 12 attacks between 2016 and his arrest in 2025.
According to the investigation, Sharifullah surveyed the route to the airport before the attack, gathered information about Taliban checkpoints and told ISKP leaders that the route was clear. Several hours later, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the airport’s Abbey Gate entrance.
The 2021 attack killed about 160 Afghans and 13 US service members. It occurred after the Taliban seized control of Kabul on Aug. 15 and as the United States and international forces were withdrawing from the country.
US officials have also linked Sharifullah to a 2016 bombing targeting Nepalese security personnel in Kabul and the 2024 attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow. More than 100 people were killed in the latter attack.
The Abbey Gate bombing was one of the deadliest incidents during the final phase of the US-led military presence in Afghanistan. The attack occurred amid the large-scale evacuation of civilians and foreign personnel from Kabul airport.
