An Afghan national convicted of providing material support to an Islamic State affiliate has been sentenced to 20 years in a US federal prison for his involvement with the militant group, including activities linked to the 2021 Kabul airport bombing.
Mohammad Sharifullah was sentenced by a federal judge after a jury found him guilty in April of providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation. The jury, however, could not reach a unanimous verdict on whether Sharifullah was directly responsible for the August 2021 suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
The attack occurred during the US military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and killed 13 American service members and more than 150 Afghans.
According to the US Department of Justice, Sharifullah acted as a scout along a route leading to the airport shortly before the suicide bomber carried out the attack. Prosecutors also accused him of playing a wider role in ISIS-K operations. The Justice Department said he participated in more than a dozen attacks between 2016 and his arrest in 2025.
His activities allegedly included transporting suicide bombers, facilitating communications and conducting surveillance for planned attacks.
Sharifullah was arrested in Pakistan in March 2025 after Pakistani authorities acted on intelligence provided by the US Central Intelligence Agency. He was later transferred to the United States to face prosecution.
His arrest was publicly welcomed by then-President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly criticised President Joe Biden over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the deadly airport attack. Sharifullah did not testify during his trial.
At the sentencing hearing, the judge described him as a committed terrorist and said he had shown no remorse for the suffering caused by his activities, according to the Associated Press.
Parents of several American service members killed in the bombing also addressed the court, recounting the devastating and lasting effect the attack had on their families.
