Who is Mohammad Sharifullah, ISIS-K member allegedly behind Kabul airport bombing?

Mohammad Sharifullah, a member of the Afghanistan branch of the terror group Islamic State, ISIS-K, was charged on Sunday by the United States for allegedly helping plan the 2021 terror attack at the Kabul airport that killed 13 American soldiers and several others.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Sharifullah has been charged with "providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, resulting in death."

On Tuesday evening, President Trump revealed during his joint address to Congress that the U.S. had apprehended a “top terrorist” involved in the 2021 bombing at Kabul airport‘s Abbey Gate in Afghanistan that killed 13 American service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians.

“Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice,” Trump said.

In a statement, the DOJ confirmed that Sharifullah had been arrested and was expected to appear in the Eastern District of Virginia on Wednesday, where the U.S. government has filed a criminal complaint against him.

“This evil ISIS-K terrorist orchestrated the brutal murder of 13 heroic Marines,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

In his address Tuesday, Trump thanked Pakistan for “helping arrest this monster,” as the country had acted on CIA intelligence that led to the arrest of Sharifullah, per CNN.

Trump also said the development was a “momentous day” for the families of those affected, saying that he had spoken “to many of the parents and loved ones,” of those killed.

According to the DOJ, Sharifullah admitted to helping prepare for the Abbey Gate attack, including scouting a route near the airport for an attacker.

During his interview with the FBI, Sharifullah confessed to supporting and conducting activities on behalf of ISIS-K in multiple other lethal attacks, per the DOJ.

Sharifullah joined ISIS-K in 2016. He was arrested in 2019, but he managed to get out of prison during a jailbreak by the Afghan Taliban during their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

The DOJ further said that after Sharifullah’s release, an ISIS-K member contacted him to seek his assistance in a planned attack in Kabul.

"On June 20, 2016, a suicide bomber acting for ISIS-K detonated a bomb that killed over ten embassy guards and multiple civilians and wounded other soldiers guarding the Canadian embassy in Kabul. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack," the DOJ statement says.

The criminal complaint alleged that prior to this attack, Sharifullah conducted surveillance to prepare the suicide bomber and later transported the bomber to the area where the attack took place.

During his interview with the FBI, Sharifullah also allegedly admitted that, on behalf of ISIS-K, he had shared instructions on how to use AK-style rifles and other weapons with attackers who were behind an attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow, Russia, that killed al least 130 people and injured several others.

If convicted of these charges, Sharifullah will face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

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