ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Defense attorneys argued Monday that federal authorities have charged an innocent man in connection with the devastating 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport that claimed nearly 200 lives during America’s turbulent exit from Afghanistan.
Mohammad Sharifullah faces accusations of reconnaissance work for the bomber who targeted the airport, resulting in the deaths of approximately 13 American military personnel and 160 Afghan civilians as the United States concluded its two-decade military presence in the region.
During opening statements at the Virginia federal courthouse, defense counsel Geremy Kamens maintained his client played no part in the terrorist plot and argued that Sharifullah’s admission of guilt was coerced.
“The U.S. government got the wrong man,” Kamens told the jury. “That is why we are proud to represent Mohammad Sharifullah in this trial.”
Federal prosecutor John Gibbs presented a different narrative, describing how Sharifullah, who also goes by Jafar, expressed violent intentions against American forces to a reporter, referring to them as invaders who entered his homeland following the September 11 attacks.
“The feeling was just to catch the crusaders and kill them,” Sharifullah reportedly stated to the journalist, according to Gibbs.
The defendant allegedly admitted to federal investigators that he became affiliated with ISIS-K, the regional Islamic State faction, around 2016. While denying direct involvement in planning the airport attack, Sharifullah reportedly acknowledged participating in numerous other operations for the terrorist organization, prosecutors said.
President Trump revealed Sharifullah’s apprehension during his March 2025 State of the Union speech. The suspect was transported to American soil the following day to face federal charges that could result in a life sentence upon conviction.
A panel of twelve jurors plus three alternates was selected Monday for the federal proceeding in Alexandria, where Sharifullah stands accused of providing material assistance to a designated terrorist group that resulted in fatalities. Court officials expect the trial to conclude within approximately one week.
The devastating attack occurred on August 26, 2021, as American forces coordinated massive evacuation efforts at Kabul’s airport. A single suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near the facility’s Abbey Gate entrance, killing 13 U.S. military personnel and roughly 160 Afghan nationals.
An investigation conducted by U.S. Central Command identified the Abbey Gate attacker as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State operative who had been freed from an Afghan detention facility by Taliban forces. According to FBI documentation, Sharifullah identified the bomber as someone he had encountered during his own imprisonment.
Congressional testimony from a former Marine revealed that he and fellow service members had observed two individuals acting suspiciously on the morning of the bombing but were denied authorization to intervene. The Central Command investigation ultimately determined that the snipers had not spotted the actual bomber and that the attack could not have been prevented.
The tragic incident sparked intense criticism of President Biden’s administration regarding the management of America’s Afghanistan withdrawal after twenty years of conflict. During his successful presidential campaign, Trump frequently condemned Biden’s handling of the chaotic evacuation and held him responsible for the Abbey Gate casualties.
The Justice Department dismissed one of the prosecutors working on the Abbey Gate case last year following public criticism from a conservative media personality regarding his service during the Biden presidency. Michael Ben’Ary’s removal was part of a wider elimination of Justice Department officials considered insufficiently aligned with Trump’s Republican administration.
Authorities also accuse Sharifullah of involvement in additional ISIS-K operations. Federal investigators claim he provided weapons training before other group members executed a March 2024 assault on a Moscow entertainment venue that resulted in approximately 140 deaths.
Defense attorney Kamens suggested his client made false admissions while under pressure during detention in Pakistan. The lawyer proposed to jurors that the airport bombing may have been facilitated from within by Taliban sympathizers who controlled airport security operations that day.
“The Pakistanis wanted him to confess, and their intelligence service tortures people,” Kamens stated.
