<p>An Afghan man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on September 16, 2026, for his role in supporting the Islamic State group-Khorasan (ISIS-K), following the bombing at Kabul’s Abbey Gate that killed 13 U.S. service members and approximately 160 Afghan civilians during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.</p>
<p>Mohammad Sharifullah received the maximum sentence for his conviction of conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.</p>
<p>The sentence is related to Sharifullah’s involvement with ISIS-K, including facilitating the group’s attacks in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>On August 26, 2021, during a noncombatant evacuation operation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, ISIS-K leadership tasked Sharifullah with surveilling a road leading to the airport. He reported to ISIS-K that the road was clear, according to the Department of Justice. An ISIS-K operative, Abdul Rahman al-Logari, detonated a suicide bomb at Abbey Gate, resulting in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and about 160 civilians.</p>
<p>A federal jury convicted Sharifullah in April 2026 of participating in a nine-year conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS-K, but the jury was deadlocked on whether he was criminally responsible for the Abbey Gate bombing.</p>
<p>Sharifullah’s defense attorneys argued for a 17-year sentence, citing the jury’s failure to convict him for the Abbey Gate deaths.</p>
<p>Prosecutors requested the maximum sentence, stating that Sharifullah participated in at least a dozen ISIS-K attacks between 2016 and 2025. They characterized his actions as driven by hatred towards Americans.</p>
<p>Prosecutors noted the need for a maximum sentence to deter others from supporting foreign terrorist organizations.</p>
<p>Cheryl Rex, mother of one of the fallen soldiers, expressed that Sharifullah’s sentence did not provide justice for her son’s death. She stated that the individual’s sentence did not equate to accountability for the loss of her son, Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola.</p>
<p>Darin Hoover, father of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, expressed disappointment that the jury did not find Sharifullah responsible for the Abbey Gate bombing.</p>