The terrorist accused by President Trump of plotting the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 US service members and 168 Afghans in August 2021 was not one of many prime planners of the assault however will stay in US custody.
Justice of the Peace Decide William Fitzpatrick agreed with federal investigators in an Alexandria, Va., federal court docket on Monday that there was possible trigger to carry Mohammad Sharifullah behind bars on costs of offering and conspiring to offer materials help and sources to a chosen overseas terrorist group leading to loss of life.
Throughout his handle to a joint session of Congress final week, Trump, 78, described Sharifullah as “the highest terrorist accountable” for the suicide bombing outdoors the Hamid Karzai Worldwide Airport in Kabul amid the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Nonetheless, FBI Particular Agent Seth Parker agreed with Sharifullah’s public defender on Monday that the alleged terrorist was not one of many top-level planners of the bombing, in accordance with Fox Information.
Parker alleged that Sharifullah was tasked by ISIS-Okay higher-ups with conducting reconnaissance forward of the assault, together with surveilling the street resulting in Abbey Gate for the presence of roadblocks and legislation enforcement.
The listening to, the second for Sharifullah since he was introduced on US soil final week, additionally revealed that the alleged ISIS-Okay member has claimed he was not current in the course of the bombing and was unaware of the specifics of the goal.
Parker, nevertheless, testified that Sharifullah was certainly an ISIS-Okay member with expertise in serving to perform suicide bombings.
The Justice Division stated final week that Sharifullah admitted to FBI brokers throughout interviews that he performed surveillance and later transported a suicide bomber close to the Canadian embassy in Kabul forward of the June 2016 assault.
Sharifullah additionally confessed to sharing directions on the best way to use AK-style rifles and different weapons with two of the 4 gunmen liable for the March 2024 ISIS-Okay assault on Crocus Metropolis Corridor close to Moscow, which killed roughly 130 folks.
Parker testified that Sharifullah was residing close to Quetta, Pakistan, the place he was elevating livestock, together with chickens, when he was apprehended.
If convicted, Sharifullah faces a most penalty of life in jail for his function within the Abbey Gate assault.
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