A jury in Virginia is deliberating in the trial of an alleged Islamic State militant accused of assisting in the planning of a deadly suicide bombing at a Kabul airport during the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Defense Argues False Confession
On Tuesday, defense attorney Lauren Rosen told jurors that her client, Mohammad Sharifullah, falsely confessed to helping plan the Abbey Gate bombing. She argued that prosecutors presented no evidence linking him to the attack beyond his own statements to FBI agents during hours of interrogation. Rosen suggested that Sharifullah fabricated details out of fear of torture while in Pakistani custody before being transferred to the United States.
“The problem was, he didn’t know much about what actually happened that day,” Rosen stated. “The government has told you nothing about how this attack actually happened.”
Prosecution Highlights Key Role
Justice Department prosecutor Ryan White countered that Sharifullah played a crucial role in planning the bombing and was involved in other ISIS-K attacks, including the March 2024 Moscow concert hall assault that killed approximately 140 people. “The defendant thought nothing of killing,” White said. “For him, it was just another day at the office.”
Sharifullah faces a single charge of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. He did not testify during his weeklong trial.
Evidence and Controversies
White noted that Sharifullah told a journalist he wanted to “catch and kill the crusaders” from the U.S. for invading Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks. “This case is not complicated,” White argued. “The defendant told you everything you need to know.”
Rosen, however, accused U.S. authorities of accepting ISIS propaganda at face value when the group claimed responsibility. She suggested that militants from a Taliban offshoot might have been involved, as they were manning Abbey Gate. “You can’t base your verdict on mere conjecture and speculation,” she said. “That’s what the prosecution is asking you to do.”
A U.S. Central Command review identified the bomber as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State militant released from an Afghan prison by the Taliban. Sharifullah recognized al-Logari as an operative he had known while incarcerated, according to an FBI affidavit. A former Marine testified to Congress that snipers spotted two suspicious individuals on the morning of the bombing but were not permitted to act. However, the Central Command review concluded the snipers did not see the actual bomber and that the attack was not preventable.
Additionally, a prosecutor assigned to the Abbey Gate case was fired last year after a right-wing commentator criticized his work during the Biden administration. Michael Ben’Ary’s dismissal was part of a broader purge of Justice Department veterans deemed insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly condemned Biden for the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and blamed him for the Abbey Gate attack. The bombing killed approximately 160 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members on August 26, 2021.
