IS member sentenced to 20 years for role in 2021 Kabul airport bombing

Mohammad Sharifullah was sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing material support to Islamic State Khorasan Province, the affiliate that claimed responsibility for the 2021 Kabul airport bombing.

Sharifullah, 28, received the maximum sentence on a single international terrorism charge. The 26 August 2021 blast near the airport’s Abbey Gate killed 13 US service members and about 160 Afghans.

Jurors convicted him of supporting ISKP but could not agree on whether his conspiracy caused deaths in the attack. That deadlock prevented a possible life sentence.

Sharifullah’s role and the competing claims

Prosecutors said Sharifullah scouted a route to Hamid Karzai International Airport. They also linked him to dozens of other attacks, including the March 2024 assault on a Moscow concert hall that killed roughly 140 people.

His lawyers sought a 17-year term and argued that he was not an ISKP leader and had not been convicted of conduct directly tied to the airport bombing. They said prosecutors presented no evidence connecting him to the attack beyond statements made during hours of FBI questioning.

Sharifullah did not testify and declined to address the court before sentencing. US District Judge Anthony Trenga called him a “dedicated terrorist” and said he had shown no remorse.

Families describe the Abbey Gate loss

Parents of US service members killed during the evacuation addressed the court. Mark Schmitz spoke about his 20-year-old son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl Jared Schmitz, while Paula Knauss-Selph said the bombing had permanently changed her family.

A US Central Command review identified the suicide bomber as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State member released from an Afghan prison by the Taliban. An FBI affidavit said Sharifullah recognized al-Logari as an operative he had known while incarcerated.