US Jury Convicts Afghan National in Connection with 2021 Kabul Airport Bombing

A federal jury in Virginia has convicted Afghan national Mohammad Sharifullah of conspiring to provide material support to ISIS-Khorasan in connection with the August 2021 Kabul airport bombing. The attack killed 13 United States service members and approximately 160 Afghan civilians.

Jurors reached a verdict on the material support charge but deadlocked on whether Sharifullah’s actions directly caused the fatalities. As a result, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years rather than a mandatory life term. US District Judge Anthony Trenga will oversee the sentencing phase, though a final date has not yet been scheduled.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Sharifullah assisted the militant group by conducting reconnaissance and facilitating communications ahead of the attack. Defense attorneys contested the reliability of statements Sharifullah provided during FBI interrogations. The conviction marks the first US criminal trial directly linked to the airport bombing.

Additional allegations presented during the proceedings reportedly connected Sharifullah to other militant operations, including a 2016 attack on security personnel near the Canadian embassy in Kabul and a 2024 attack on a concert hall in Moscow. His arrest was publicly announced in February 2025 following coordination between US and Pakistani authorities.

Sharifullah remains in federal custody pending sentencing. The case underscores ongoing US legal efforts to hold individuals accountable for attacks targeting American personnel and Afghan civilians during the final stages of the 2021 military withdrawal.