Abbey Gate Bombing Sentences

An Afghan man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday for his role in supporting the Islamic State group-K, five years after the terrorist group’s bombing at Kabul’s Abbey Gate killed 13 U.S. service members and roughly 160 Afghans during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Sharifullah could have faced a possible life sentence if the jury had unanimously agreed on that point.

"After making these preparations for the attack, Sharifullah was tasked with scouting a route near Hamid Karzai International Airport for an attacker," the affidavit said.

“He was brought here because the government believed he participated in the Abbey Gate attack, a theory which it was unable to prove at trial,” his attorneys wrote in a sentencing memorandum.