Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

No Bail For Terrorist Linked To Killing Of US Soldiers At Afghanistan Airport

Tim Evanson/Creative Commons/Flickr

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge said Monday he will move to detain an ISIS-K member linked to the killing of 13 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan until trial.

Biden-appointed Judge William Fitzpatrick said he found probable cause for the terrorism charges against Mohammad Sharifullah during a detention hearing at an Alexandria, Virginia courthouse. The Trump administration arrested Sharifullah last Tuesday in connection to the bombing of a Kabul, Afghanistan airport in August 2021 and two other Islamic terrorist attacks.

Sharifullah sat quietly in a dark green jail uniform as more than two dozen viewers sat in the courtroom, where prosecution and defense lawyers cross-examined an FBI special agent involved in the case. The agent testified about multiple FBI interviews with Sharifullah, saying Sharifullah admitted he had specialized experience helping ISIS-K conduct suicide bombing attacks.

The DOJ has alleged Sharifullah helped ISIS-K prepare for the Kabul suicide bombing during the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, killing 13 U.S. soldiers and around 170 Afghans, as well as fatal bombings against a Canadian embassy in 2016 and in Moscow, Russia in 2024.

Sharifullah helped conduct surveillance near the Kabul airport to help ISIS-K members know where and when to send the bomber two weeks after being released from an Afghanistan prison, a DOJ affidavit says. After the massacre, Pakistani officials detained him until President Donald Trump took office and demanded prosecution of all responsible for the bombing. (RELATED: Kabul Massacre Suspect Was Reportedly Jailed Overseas For 11 Months Before US Bothered To Arrest Him)

A defense attorney for Sharifullah focused her questioning around whether his alleged confessions were coerced. She asked if the FBI agent knew of Sharifullah being “tortured” or “threatened” while in Pakistani or U.S. custody. The agent said he was not aware of any such treatment. He later told the prosecutor questioning him that a medical professional reported no injuries on Sharifullah after the FBI interviewed him aboard an aircraft on his way to the U.S.

Sharifullah is charged with providing and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists resulting in death and could face life in prison or execution if convicted. He has not entered a plea.