Afghan man sentenced to 20 years in case tied to 2021 airport bombing that killed US troops

US Central Command/AP

A federal judge handed down a 20-year sentence for the Afghan man convicted of providing material support to a terrorist organization during the August 2021 airport attack and bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the US military’s flawed departure.

Mohammad Sharifullah was convicted of providing support to an ISIS affiliate in April, though jurors could not agree on whether he bore responsibility for the attack that left 13 US service members and over 150 Afghans dead.

The Justice Department said in a press release Wednesday that Sharifullah acted as a scout for one path to the airport during the 2021 attack, where a terrorist would soon detonate a suicide-vest, killing the military members and Afghans.

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Sharifullah, the department said, “participated in over a dozen ISIS-K attacks from 2016 through his eventual apprehension in 2025,” including by transporting suicide bombers, running communications and providing surveillance for the attacks.

He was detained by US officials in March of last year, after Pakistani forces, acting on CIA information, arrested Sharifullah. At the time, his arrest was touted by President Donald Trump, who had often criticized then-President Joe Biden for the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal and airport attack.

Sharifullah did not testify at his trial. At his sentencing, the judge said the defendant was a “dedicated terrorist” who expressed no remorse for the “unfathomable” grief and suffering that he had caused, the Associated Press reported.

Several parents of the US service members gave impact statements in court, describing how the attack has shattered their families, the AP reported.

美国中央司令部/美联社

一名阿富汗男子因在 2021 年 8 月美军撤离阿富汗喀布尔期间，向恐怖组织提供物质支持而被定罪，联邦法官判处其 20 年监禁。

穆罕默德·沙里夫拉于 4 月被判向 ISIS 附属组织提供支持罪名成立，但陪审团未能就他是否应对造成 13 名美国军人和 150 多名阿富汗人死亡的袭击事件负责达成一致意见。

美国司法部周三在一份新闻稿中表示，沙里夫拉在 2021 年的袭击中担任侦察员，负责寻找通往机场的一条路线，一名恐怖分子随后引爆了自杀式炸弹背心，导致军人和阿富汗人丧生。

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该部门表示，沙里夫拉“从 2016 年到 2025 年最终被捕期间，参与了十几起 ISIS-K 袭击”，包括运送自杀式炸弹袭击者、运营通信和为袭击提供监视。

去年3月，巴基斯坦军队根据美国中央情报局提供的情报逮捕了沙里夫拉，随后他被美国官员拘留。当时，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普曾多次批评时任总统乔·拜登在阿富汗的撤军行动和机场袭击事件中造成的灾难性后果，并对沙里夫拉的被捕大加赞扬。

据美联社报道，沙里夫拉在审判中没有作证。在宣判时，法官称被告是一名“执着的恐怖分子”，对他造成的“难以估量的”悲痛和苦难毫无悔意。

据美联社报道，多名美国军人家属在法庭上发表了受害人影响陈述，描述了此次袭击如何摧毁了他们的家庭。