WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The mastermind behind the deadly terrorist attack at Abbey Gate during the August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan has been captured.
'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,' President Donald Trump said during his first address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday.
The Department of Justice said Mohammad Sharifullah, a member of the terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province, has been charged and is expected to appear in the Eastern District of Virginia on Wednesday.
In a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on 2021 August 26, during the evacuation from Afghanistan, 182 people were killed, including 169 Afghan civilians and 13 American troops.
The Islamic State - Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the attack.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Sharifullah was arrested with the help of the FBI, Department of Justice, and the CIA.
After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Hamid Karzai International Airport was the only way out of Afghanistan. American and other Coalition military forces were conducting an evacuation operation. Thousands of civilians were at Abbey Gate, the main entry point, for evacuation.
ISIS-K operative Abdul Rahman al-Logari detonated a body-worn suicide bomb at Abbey Gate, resulting in mass casualties.
According to the Justice Department, during an interview with FBI Special Agents on March 2, Sharifullah admitted to helping prepare for the Abbey Gate attack, including scouting a route near the airport for an attacker.
Sharifullah also admitted to perpetrating multiple other lethal attacks on behalf of ISIS-K, including a suicide bomb attack at the Canadian embassy in Kabul and deadly shooting at Crocus City Hall near Moscow.
If convicted, Sharifullah faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
