The F.B.I. arrested an Afghan nationwide charged with enjoying a job within the fatal 2021 assault on U.S. provider individuals as they performed a tumultuous evacuation of civilians at Afghanistan’s primary airport, the Justice Division introduced on Wednesday.
The person, Mohammad Sharifullah, is accused of serving to a suicide bomber way the Hamid Karzai Global Airport in Kabul that August with out being detected. The horrific assault killed 13 U.S. army provider individuals and injured roughly 160 civilians.
Mr. Sharifullah used to be flown again to the US early Wednesday and charged with violating terrorism statutes. He used to be anticipated to seem in federal court docket in Alexandria, Va. If convicted, he faces the potential for lifestyles in jail.
Officers mentioned the US had equipped intelligence to Pakistan that ended in Mr. Sharifullah’s seize. High Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan mentioned that Mr. Sharifullah were arrested by means of Pakistani safety forces within the border area with Afghanistan.
In an interview on Sunday with F.B.I. brokers from the Washington box place of business, Mr. Sharifullah admitted he used to be a member of the Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-Okay, a U.S.-designated terrorist staff.
The assault came about at what used to be referred to as the Abbey Gate, the access level to the airport for hundreds of civilians hoping to escape Afghanistan because the Taliban took dangle of the rustic. The bloody assault became a symbol of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan within the opening months of the Biden management.
The army were warned about the potential for terror assaults on the airport, which had fueled intense criticisms of the Biden management and the pell-mell withdrawal.
Erik S. Siebert, the appearing U.S. legal professional for the Japanese District of Virginia, mentioned in a commentary: “The fees introduced as of late elevate an unmistakable message: The dedication of the US to carry responsible all who facilitate and perform acts of terror towards us won’t ever waver.”
Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, mentioned the Central Intelligence Company had equipped help in Mr. Sharifullah’s case.
Former and present officers mentioned it’s extremely extraordinary to reference the C.I.A. in a lot of these operations. Most often, the C.I.A.’s involvement in regulation enforcement operations isn’t discussed as a result of the delicate nature of its paintings and headaches with undercover officials attesting in federal court docket.
When F.B.I. brokers interviewed Mr. Sharifullah, he mentioned he had scouted the attacker’s path to the Kabul airport. He additionally admitted to realizing the ISIS-Okay operative who blew himself up.
Mr. Sharifullah instructed the brokers that he were in a jail in Afghanistan from about 2019 till two weeks earlier than the assault. After his unencumber, an ISIS-Okay operative contacted him concerning the pending operation and equipped Mr. Sharifullah with a bike and cash for a cell phone. Mr. Sharifullah used to be instructed to make use of a social media platform to keep in touch different operatives for the crowd all over the assault.
The F.B.I. mentioned that Mr. Sharifullah had stated serving to perform different deadly assaults on behalf of ISIS-Okay. He performed surveillance in a 2016 suicide assault at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul whilst housing and transporting the bomber to the world, consistent with the F.B.I. The assault killed 10 embassy guards and wounded different squaddies guarding the embassy, consistent with court docket paperwork. (Reporting by means of The New York Occasions discovered that 15 guards were killed.)
Mr. Sharifullah additionally claimed wisdom of a March 2024 assault on tune venue close to Moscow that killed about 130 other people. Russian government arrested 4 gunmen within the assault and Mr. Sharifullah admitted that he had shared directions on how you can use attack rifles and different guns with a minimum of two of the gunmen.
