A federal jury couldn’t agree on whether Mohammad Sharifullah bore direct responsibility for the deaths of 13 American servicemembers at Abbey Gate. But a judge made sure he’s going away for the maximum time allowed anyway.
Sharifullah, an ISIS-K operative who prosecutors say scouted the route for the suicide bomber behind the August 26, 2021 attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. The attack also claimed the lives of approximately 160 Afghan citizens who were desperately trying to flee their country as it fell to the Taliban.
The sentence marks the conclusion of a years-long pursuit of justice for the deadliest single attack on American forces during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Department of Justice prosecutors described Sharifullah as the mastermind behind the bombing, alleging he personally prepared the path for Abdul Rahman al-Logari, the suicide bomber who detonated his explosive vest at the airport gate where U.S. Marines were processing evacuees.
A federal jury in Virginia convicted Sharifullah for participating in a nine-year conspiracy to provide material support and resources to ISIS-K, which the U.S. government has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The conviction carried a maximum sentence of 20 years, which the court imposed in full.
The jury deadlocked, however, on the question of whether Sharifullah shared culpability for the bombing itself. That hung jury means prosecutors were unable to secure a conviction tying him directly to the attack that left Gold Star families grieving across America.
Sharifullah’s path to an American courtroom took years. He was captured in Pakistan and transferred to U.S. custody in early 2025. Images released by federal law enforcement showed him being escorted by agents following his arrest and extradition.
The Abbey Gate bombing occurred during Operation Allies Refuge, the military mission ordered by former President Joe Biden to end America’s 20-year presence in Afghanistan. What was supposed to be a measured withdrawal quickly spiraled into disaster.
The Afghan government collapsed far faster than Biden administration officials had anticipated, leaving American forces scrambling to evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghan allies from Hamid Karzai International Airport as Taliban fighters took control of Kabul’s streets.
The 13 servicemembers killed that day ranged in age from 20 to 31. They were Marines, a Navy corpsman, and an Army soldier. Many were not yet born when the war in Afghanistan began following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
