Overview
- A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday found Mohammad Sharifullah guilty of conspiring to provide material support to ISIS-K but could not agree that his support caused the 13 U.S. troop deaths at Abbey Gate.
- He now faces up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy count, with a federal judge to set sentencing after reviewing guidelines and case factors.
- Prosecutors said ISIS-K leaders assigned Sharifullah on Aug. 26, 2021 to check a road to Kabul’s airport for Taliban checkpoints, and he reported it clear before bomber Abdul Rahman al-Logari detonated at Abbey Gate.
- Trial evidence also linked him to other ISIS-K operations, including surveillance and transport for a 2016 attack on guards near the Canadian embassy in Kabul and weapons instructions tied to the March 2024 Crocus City Hall attack near Moscow.
- Defense lawyers argued his admissions to FBI agents after overseas detention were unreliable, and the case marked the first U.S. criminal trial tied directly to the Abbey Gate attack.