Overview
- Opening statements began Monday in Alexandria, Virginia, with prosecutors saying Mohammad Sharifullah admitted in FBI interviews to scouting a route near the airport that he believed was free of checkpoints.
- The defense told jurors the U.S. has the wrong man and said any statements were false or coerced during Pakistani custody, arguing he had no role in the plot.
- Sharifullah, known as Jafar, is charged with providing and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS-K resulting in death and faces a possible life sentence if convicted after pleading not guilty.
- The 2021 suicide bombing at Abbey Gate killed 13 U.S. service members and many Afghan civilians, and a U.S. review identified ISIS-K member Abdul Rahman al-Logari as the bomber after the Taliban released him from prison.
- Prosecutors also allege Sharifullah supported other ISIS-K operations, including giving firearms instruction before the March 2024 Moscow concert hall attack that killed roughly 140 people.