An Afghan national linked to an Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection with the 2021 Kabul airport suicide bombing that happened during a chaotic scene as the Taliban retook the country.
Mohammad Sharifullah was sentenced on Wednesday after a federal jury in Virginia convicted him in April of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISKP.
However, jurors could not agree on whether his support directly resulted in the deaths caused by the 26 August 2021 bombing at Abbey Gate that killed about 160 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Sharifullah had supported ISKP operations for nearly a decade and participated in more than a dozen attacks from 2016 until his apprehension in 2025.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said the sentence held Sharifullah accountable for his activities.
“Sharifullah spent nearly a decade at the heart of a horrific campaign of terror, providing critical support for attacks against civilians around the world and, ultimately, contributed to the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers and dozens of others at Abbey Gate.”
The Abbey Gate bombing came during one of the most turbulent periods in Afghanistan’s recent history.
The Taliban had taken control of Kabul on 15 August 2021 following the collapse of the former Afghan government, as U.S. and international forces were completing their withdrawal after two decades in the country.
Thousands of people swarmed Kabul’s airport seeking to leave, climbing the walls surrounding the compound in the hopes of boarding U.S. military aircraft. The United States and its partners eventually transported more than 124,000 people out of Afghanistan during the operation.
According to the DOJ, Sharifullah checked a route to the airport for Taliban checkpoints before telling ISKP leadership it was clear.
Hours later, a suicide bomber detonated explosives at Abbey Gate, killing U.S. military personnel and Afghan civilians.
U.S. authorities said Sharifullah was also involved in other attacks, including the 2016 bombing targeting Nepali security guards in Kabul and the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack near Moscow, where more than 100 people were killed.
FBI Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Jarod Brown said the distance from the United States had not prevented the investigation.
“The bombing occurred in Afghanistan — thousands of miles from the United States — but that did not stop the FBI and our interagency partners from bringing Sharifullah here to face American justice.”
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