Trump says Pak helped arrest 2021 Kabul bombing suspect: Who is he?

The attack, known as the Abbey Gate bombing, took place while the US forces and their allies were evacuating Kabul after Tabilan’s takeover of the city.

Here is a look at the bombing and the person who has been arrested.

The Abbey Gate bombing

As the US authorities set an August 31, 2021, deadline to evacuate all American troops stationed in Afghanistan, Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, and Hamid Karzai International Airport became the only way out of the country.

As a result, on August 26, thousands of people including Afghans gathered at the airport to be evacuated. At around 5:50 pm, a suicide bombing at the airport’s entry point, known as Abbey Gate, took place, killing nearly 200 people, including 13 American soldiers.

It was later found that the bomber was Abdul Rahman al-Logari, a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).

The suspect

Senior US officials told the Associated Press that Sharifullah was arrested late last month on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan by Pakistani officials.

“During the interrogation, the official said the suspect confessed to his role in the attack… and also a March 2024 attack in Moscow that was carried out by the… ISIS-K… and several attacks inside Iran,” the report said.

Officials also said that Sharifullah had joined the militant group in 2016, and was involved in more than 20 attacks across Afghanistan.

Notably, Sharifullah was arrested in 2019 by the US-backed Afghan government at the time but escaped from prison as the Taliban took Kabul.

In a press statement, the US Department of Justice said, “Sharifullah admitted to helping prepare for the Abbey Gate attack, including scouting a route near the airport for an attacker. Sharifullah specifically checked for law enforcement and American or Taliban checkpoints; he then communicated to other ISIS-K members that he believed the route was clear and that the attacker would not be detected.” Sharifullah also admitted to knowing al-Logari before the bombing.

After the attack, Sharifullah remained on the run in the border areas of Balochistan until his arrest through a joint intelligence-sharing operation between Pakistan and the US.

It was not immediately clear what charges Sharifullah would face. The US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the case against Sharifullah before it was unveiled, told the AP that charging documents would be unsealed Wednesday. Sharifullah was in transit to the US while Trump made the announcement late Tuesday.

(With inputs from AP)