Ajury in a federal court in the US state of Virginia found ISIS member Sharifullah guilty in the case of the deadly attack at Kabul airport in 2021. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, accused of providing “logistical support” for the attack.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges during his week-long trial, according to the Associated Press.
The suicide attack took place on August 26, 2021, near the “Blue Gate” gate of Kabul airport, coinciding with the days of the Taliban’s regain control of Kabul and the withdrawal of US forces.
At the time, U.S. forces were conducting an evacuation operation from Afghanistan. About 160 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members were killed in the attack.
The jury was unable to agree on whether the deaths at the Kabul airport were a direct result of his conspiracy and cooperation. If they had agreed, Sharifullah could have faced a life sentence.
His prison sentence will be announced in the coming weeks.
Sharifullah’s defense lawyer, Lauren Rosen, said during the trial that prosecutors had not presented any evidence to prove his connection to the attack, other than Sharifullah’s own statements during hours of FBI interrogation.
Sharifullah may have told FBI agents what he thought they wanted to hear because he feared torture during interrogations in Pakistani detention facilities before he was transferred to the United States, he added.
Sharifullah was arrested by Pakistani security forces, marking the beginning of the warm relationship between the army chief and the Pakistani prime minister with Trump himself.
U.S. Justice Department prosecutors said Sharifullah played a key role in planning the Blue Gate attack and was involved in several other ISIS-K attacks. They specifically referred to the 2024 attack on a concert hall in Moscow that left about 140 people dead.
Investigations by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) had revealed that the perpetrator of the Abbey Gate attack was Abdul Rahman Logari, a member of the ISIS group who was released by the Taliban from a prison in Afghanistan. According to the FBI, Sharifullah had met the perpetrator of the attack in prison.
The prosecutor also said Sharifullah had told a reporter that he wanted to kill American “crusaders” for invading his country.
