A man found guilty of supporting the Islamic State terrorist network in relation to the devastating Abbey Gate attack, which claimed the lives of 13 U.S. service members during the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal, has received a 20-year federal prison sentence.
Mohammed Sharifullah, an alleged operative of ISIS-K, the group’s Afghanistan-based regional affiliate, was convicted in April on a conspiracy count tied to the 2021 suicide bombing outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.
“For nearly 10 years, Sharifullah was deeply involved in a brutal campaign of terrorism, supplying essential assistance for attacks on civilians across the globe and ultimately helping enable the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers and dozens more at Abbey Gate,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said. “This sentence holds him responsible for the blood on his hands. The United States will find, capture, and prosecute anyone, anywhere, who participates in the murder of our citizens or service members.”
At trial, the jury could not reach a unanimous decision on whether deaths at the Kabul airport directly resulted from the conspiracy. Had jurors agreed on that finding, Sharifullah could have faced life in prison.
British and American security personnel manage crowds of Afghan evacuees inside Abbey Gate in Kabul on Aug. 25, 2021. Mohammed Sharifullah, convicted of providing material support to the Islamic State, was sentenced to 20 years in prison over his connection to the deadly Abbey Gate suicide bombing during the 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. (Marcus Lam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
The Aug. 26, 2021, bombing killed more than 160 Afghans along with 13 American military personnel. U.S. forces were overseeing evacuation efforts at the Kabul airport when a lone attacker set off an improvised explosive device near Abbey Gate, one of the airport’s access points.
American forces completed their withdrawal only days later, as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan.
Mark Schmitz, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, was killed in the Abbey Gate bombing, told Fox News that a 20-year prison term was “certainly not enough time for somebody who was involved in something as heinous as this.”
“The terrorist bombing took my son physically from me. They can never take his legacy as a human being,” he said.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators and prosecutors remained “steadfast in pursuing” Sharifullah and securing his prosecution on U.S. soil.
“Our hearts remain with the families who lost loved ones that day,” Blanche wrote on X. “No sentence can undo their unimaginable loss, but we hope today brings some measure of justice.”
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Afghans hold documents and wait outside Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the chaotic 2021 U.S. evacuation. Many Afghan Christians and allies were among those seeking rescue. (Courtesy: Oklahoma Khorasan Church)
During interviews with the FBI, Sharifullah admitted that he surveilled a possible route for the suicide bomber to the Abbey Gate during the last days of the U.S. military’s presence in Afghanistan, according to evidence presented at trial.
“ISIS-K members provided Sharifullah with a motorcycle, funds for a cell phone and a SIM card, and instructions to open an account on a particular social media platform to communicate with them during the attack operation,” an affidavit cited Sharifullah as saying in an FBI interview.
President Donald Trump, surrounded by family members of military service members killed in Afghanistan at the attack at Abbey Gate, speaks during an event for the signing of a proclamation honoring the fourth anniversary of the attack. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“After making these preparations for the attack, Sharifullah was tasked with scouting a route near Hamid Karzai International Airport for an attacker,” the affidavit said. “Sharifullah conducted surveillance on a route, specifically checking for law enforcement and American or Taliban checkpoints.”
Prosecutors also presented evidence of several other ISIS-K attacks in Afghanistan in which Sharifullah admitted involvement.
President Donald Trump announced the capture of Sharifullah during a March 2025 address to a joint session of Congress.
“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 at the time to lawmakers.
News Media has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.