A federal jury has convicted Mohammad Sharifullah, an Afghan man, of supporting the IS-K in connection with multiple attacks, including the 2021 bombing at Kabul’s airport, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
The Justice Department said Sharifullah was found guilty of participating in a long-running conspiracy to provide material support to the IS-K. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Sharifullah carried out surveillance on a route to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, checking for Taliban checkpoints before a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate later that day.
US officials identified the attacker as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, who detonated an explosive device at a crowded entrance where thousands of civilians were gathered during evacuation operations. The blast killed 13 US service members and about 160 Afghan civilians.
Despite the conviction, jurors could not agree on whether Sharifullah’s actions directly resulted in the deaths from the attack — a determination that could have led to a life sentence.
Sharifullah was tried in federal court in Virginia, where jurors deliberated for about eight hours over two days before returning a partial verdict.
Prosecutors also alleged that Sharifullah was involved in other ISIS-K operations over several years, including a 2016 bombing in Kabul targeting security guards at the Canadian Embassy and a 2024 attack on a concert hall near Moscow. They said he assisted with surveillance, logistics and communications for multiple attacks.
Defense attorneys argued there was no direct evidence linking Sharifullah to the Kabul bombing beyond statements he made during FBI questioning, which they said were unreliable.
The case stems from the deadly attack during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, one of the deadliest days for US forces in the conflict’s final phase.
A US military review later concluded the bombing was not preventable.
The FBI investigated the case, and it was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s National Security Division and federal prosecutors in Virginia.
A sentencing date has not been set.
