The individual accused of orchestrating the Abbey Gate bombing in 2021, which resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. military personnel and 160 civilians during the turbulent Afghanistan withdrawal, has been extradited to the United States.
ISIS-K member Mohammad Sharifullah was extradited Tuesday night to “face American justice,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
“3 and 1/2 years later, justice for our 13,” Patel wrote on X.
He faces charges of providing support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and conspiring to do so, leading to fatalities, and was scheduled to appear in a federal court in Virginia on Wednesday.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on August 26, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia. Trump is joined by Misty Fuoco, whose sister, Sgt. Nicole Gee, lost her life in the Abbey Gate Bombing. (Photo credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
On Aug. 26, 2021, Abdul Rahman al-Logari — a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) — “detonated a body-worn suicide bomb at Abbey Gate, killing 13 U.S. military service members and approximately 160 civilians,” the Justice Department said.
The U.S. withdrawal was completed a few days later, and the Taliban later claimed control of Afghanistan.
FBI Special Agents interviewed Sharifullah this week, during which he revealed that he was in prison in Afghanistan from 2019 until approximately two weeks before the Abbey Gate attack, the Justice Department said.
“Upon Sharifullah’s release, an ISIS-K member contacted Sharifullah to arrange for his assistance in an upcoming attack,” the affidavit cited Sharifullah as saying in an interview.
Taliban fighters man a checkpoint outside Abbey Gate on Aug. 25, 2021, the day before the bombing there. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
“ISIS-K members provided Sharifullah with a motorcycle, funds for a cell phone and a SIM card, and instructions to open an account on a particular social media platform to communicate with them during the attack operation. After making these preparations for the attack, Sharifullah was tasked with scouting a route near Hamid Karzai International Airport for an attacker,” the affidavit said. “Sharifullah conducted surveillance on a route, specifically checking for law enforcement and American or Taliban checkpoints.”
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.
