ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Afghan national Mohammad Sharifullah was sentenced Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide material support to ISIS-K, the Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs announced.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia imposed the maximum on Sharifullah’s one-count material-support conviction. A federal jury had convicted him in April of providing material support to ISIS-K but deadlocked on whether deaths at Abbey Gate “resulted from” that conspiracy — the special finding that could have exposed him to life imprisonment, AP reporting carried by ABC News noted.

Prosecutors allege Sharifullah’s role in the Aug. 26, 2021, Abbey Gate attack — which killed 13 U.S. service members and about 160 civilians during the Kabul airport evacuation — was surveilling a road to Hamid Karzai International Airport to ensure it was clear of Taliban checkpoints. DOJ says he reported the route clear around 2 p.m.; at about 5:36 p.m., ISIS-K operative Abdul Rahman al-Logari detonated a suicide bomb at Abbey Gate. The government also attributes to Sharifullah surveillance and transport roles in earlier ISIS-K attacks and communications tied to the March 2024 Crocus City Hall assault near Moscow.

Those Abbey Gate and other-attack claims are prosecution allegations and trial evidence as framed by DOJ, not a unanimous jury finding that the airport deaths resulted from his conspiracy. Defense lawyers denied Abbey Gate responsibility, argued the government failed to prove bombing-related conduct beyond his FBI statements, and sought a 17-year sentence; they wrote that he “was brought here because the government believed he participated in the Abbey Gate attack, a theory which it was unable to prove at trial,” AP reported. Sharifullah did not address the court; Trenga called him a “dedicated terrorist” who showed no remorse, according to AP.

President Trump previously described Sharifullah as an architect of the attack when announcing his capture. The FBI Washington Field Office investigated; EDVA and DOJ National Security Division prosecutors handled the case (No. 1:25-cr-143).

Dated Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026: Sharifullah sentenced to 20 years (EDVA, Judge Trenga); jury convicted material support, deadlocked on death-result finding; defense sought 17 years and denied Abbey Gate role; DOJ alleges route surveillance for Aug. 26, 2021 attack.

Sources