March 5 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said Tuesday night that a suspect in the 2021 attack on the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans has been captured and was being extradited to the United States.
"Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American Justice," Trump told a joint session of Congress.
"This was a very momentous day for those 13 families ... whose children were murdered and the many people that were so badly ... injured that fateful day in Afghanistan."
Thirteen U.S. service members were among the more than 180 people killed Aug. 26, 2021, during a suicide bomb attack on Hamid Karzai International Airport. The attack occurred as the U.S. was completing its military withdrawal from the country as it fell to the Taliban.
Islamic State Khorasan Province, better known as ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Trump did not identify the suspect, but unidentified sources confirmed to CNN, The New York Times and CBS News that it was Mohammad Sharifullah .
According to court documents published early Wednesday by the Justice Department, Sharifullah, known as Jafar, has been charged for his involvement in the Kabul airport attack.
The criminal complaint states the charge as providing and conspiring to provide material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations resulting in death.
The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint states the FBI interviewed him on Sunday.
The document says he told FBI special agents he was recruited into ISIS-K around 2016 and that he admitted to being involved in the 2021 attacks, specifically conducting surveillance of a route that one of the suicide bombers would take to the airport.
"Sharifullah communicated to other ISIS-K members that he believed the route was clear and that he did not think the attack would be detected while proceeding through that route," the affidavit states.
"ISIS-K members then instructed Sharifullah to leave the are of HKIA. Later that same day, Sharifullah learned of the attack at HKIA."
He also admitted to supporting and conducting "multiple lethal attacks" for the terrorist organization, including a June 2016 attack that killed 10 guards of the Canadian embassy and the March 2024 attack on a Moscow nightclub.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif of Pakistan said his security forces had recently apprehended Sharifullah, whom he called a "top tier operational commander" of the ISIS-K, during an operation conducted in the Pakistan-Afghan border region
After Trump made the announcement, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the suspect was extradited by the FBI, the Department of Justice and the CIA.
"One step closer to justice for these American heroes and their families," he said on X. "Thank you to our incredible partners and brave FBI personnel who made this happen. You represented your country brilliantly."
Attorney General Pam Bondi similarly announced that the suspect was being taken into U.S. custody.
"We hope this brings closure to the families of the 13 American Heroes lost at Abbey Gate," she said on X. "We will continue to bring those who harm Americans to swift and decisive justice."
Though Trump was the one who negotiated the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan with the Taliban during his first term, he blames President Joe Biden -- who inherited and completed the plan -- for the death and chaos, a point he reiterated Tuesday night.
"What a horrible day. Such incompetence was shown," he said, suggesting that it was the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin he could invade Ukraine.
"Should have never happened. Grossly incompetent people."
Trump added that he spoke to the families of the 13 soldiers and "they did nothing but cry with happiness" upon hearing the suspect had been apprehended.
He also thanked Pakistan for their support in arresting the suspect.
The United States designated ISIS-K a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization in January 2016 during the administration of President Barack Obama.
