Who Is Mohammad Sharifullah? The ISIS-K Terrorist Behind The Deadly Kabul Airport Blast

US authorities have arrested Mohammad Sharifullah, an ISIS terrorist accused of planning the August 2021 Kabul airport bombing that killed 13 American troops and 170 Afghan civilians.

President Donald Trump made the announcement during his address to Congress, saying the suspect was in US custody and would "face the swift sword of American justice."

He thanked the Pakistani government for its role in the arrest, calling it a "momentous day for those 13 families, who I actually got to know very well, most of them."

Who is Mohammad Sharifullah?

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified Mohammad Sharifullah - also known as "Jafar" - as a key planner for ISIS-K, the terror group's branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is also linked to the March 2024 Moscow concert hall massacre and a January 2024 bombing in Iran.

The Abbey Gate Attack

The Abbey Gate attack was one of the deadliest incidents in the final days of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. On August 26, 2021, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near Abbey Gate, one of the main entrances to Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. The attack, claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), killed 13 US service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians while injuring dozens more. 

At the time of the attack, thousands of Afghans gathered at Abbey Gate, hoping to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover. US and allied forces were overseeing evacuations under tense conditions. The suicide bomber approached a packed crowd and detonated an explosive vest, causing mass casualties. Soon after, gunmen also opened fire.

Pakistani authorities captured Sharifullah last month and recently transferred him to the FBI for extradition. The Biden administration previously claimed the mastermind behind the Kabul bombing had been killed by the Taliban in 2023, but the White House official said Sharifullah played a direct role in planning the attack.

Sharifullah's Confession

An FBI affidavit released late Tuesday said that Sharifullah admitted to joining ISIS-K in 2016 and being imprisoned until two weeks before the Kabul attack. After his release, the group gave him a motorcycle, and he scouted routes to the airport for the suicide bomber, identified as Abdul Rahman al-Logari. Sharifullah also said he provided an instructional rifle training video to the perpetrators of the Moscow attack.