By ERIC TUCKER and ZEKE MILLER, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A suspected senior planner within the suicide bombing on the Kabul airport that killed 13 American service members throughout the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has been taken into custody and is being dropped at america to face fees, President Donald Trump introduced Tuesday evening.
“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 stated in a joint tackle to Congress.
The White Home recognized the person as Muhammed Sharifullah and described him as having “orchestrated the Abbey Gate attack.” FBI Director Kash Patel, who attended Trump’s tackle, posted on the social media platform X that the arrest was “one step closer to justice for these American heroes and their families.”
A senior U.S. official stated Sharifullah, often called Jafar, was arrested late final month on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan by Pakistani officers. U.S. legislation enforcement, together with the FBI, interrogated Sharifullah over the weekend and he confessed to his function within the 2021 Abbey Gate assault, the official stated, in addition to a March 2024 ISIS-Ok assault in Moscow and several other assaults inside Iran.
It was not instantly clear what fees Sharifullah would face. The official, talking on the situation of anonymity to debate the case in opposition to Sharifullah earlier than it was unveiled, stated charging paperwork can be unsealed Wednesday. He was in transit to the U.S. whereas Trump was talking late Tuesday.
The Abbey Gate bombing throughout the remaining days of the Afghanistan withdrawal killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans, whereas wounding scores extra. It triggered widespread congressional criticism and undermined public confidence in Biden’s administration.
A assessment final yr by U.S. Central Command concluded that the suicide bombing was not preventable. The U.S. navy has beforehand recognized the bomber as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State militant who had been in an Afghan jail however was launched by the Taliban because the group took management of the nation that summer season.
Trump had repeatedly condemned Biden’s function within the Afghanistan withdrawal on the marketing campaign path and blamed Biden for the Abbey Gate assault. The official stated Sharifullah’s arrest got here after recent U.S. intelligence neighborhood coordination, elevated intelligence sharing and stress on regional companions to deliver these liable for the assault to account since Trump’s swearing-in.
