Kabul airport bombing suspect appears in US court

Mohamed Sharifullah, head of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group suspected of masterminding the Kabul airport bombing in August 2021 that killed 183 people, including 13 U.S. soldiers, appeared in court in Virginia on Wednesday.

According to the Justice Department, Sharifullah, also known as "Jafar," confessed that he had watched and studied the route to the airport, where a suicide bomber later set off a device among the crowd trying to flee the Taliban, who had just taken control of Kabul.

The man appeared before a court in Alexandria, near Washington D.C., wearing a light blue prison uniform, and was assigned a public defender and an interpreter.

The defendant pleaded neither guilty nor not guilty before the court

Sharifullah, who did not enter a plea of guilty or not guilty and will appear again Monday in the same court, is charged with "providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization with lethal result," AFP reports.

The attacker who detonated the explosives on August 26, 2021, was identified as Abdul Rahman al Logari, according to the Justice Department. The agency also noted that Sharifullah admitted to being involved in other attacks, including the one perpetrated at Moscow's Crocus City Hall in March 2024.

"Swiftly facing the sword of American justice"

Criticizing that withdrawal as "catastrophic and incapable" under the Joe Biden administration, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the arrest "of the terrorist responsible for that atrocity" in his address to Congress Tuesday night.

"He is at this very moment on his way here to quickly face the sword of American justice," said the Republican, who thanked Pakistan for its help in the arrest.

CIA-Pakistan collaboration in Sharifullah's arrest

The man was arrested by the Pakistani secret services on CIA information and could be sentenced to life in prison, said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Pakistan's prime minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for recognizing "at face value" his country's role in supporting "counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan" in a message on X.

Cross-accusations between Kabul and Islamabad

Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of not eliminating militants who take refuge in its territory to prepare attacks, allegations denied by Kabul, which in turn blames Islamabad for harboring "terrorist" cells.

The Taliban government on Wednesday rejected those accusations and said in a statement that Sharifullah's arrest "proves" that the jihadists' hideouts are in Pakistani territory.