An Afghan militant, Mohammad Sharifullah, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United States for his involvement in the activities of Vilayat Khorasan, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization. US authorities also claimed his connection to the organization of the 2024 attack on Crocus City Hall in the Moscow region.
The sentence was handed down on September 16. According to the US Department of Justice, Sharifullah was convicted of participating in a multi-year scheme to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Investigators allege that during the preparation and execution of the Crocus City Hall attack, he provided instructions to the attackers on handling Kalashnikov rifles and other weapons, and maintained communication with them during the assault.
In March 2025, the US Justice Department reported that during an FBI interrogation, Sharifullah admitted to instructing the attackers on behalf of Vilayat Khorasan. According to US authorities, he was associated with the terrorist organization for nearly a decade. From 2016 until his arrest in 2025, he allegedly participated in more than ten attacks and performed various tasks: conducting reconnaissance, transporting suicide bombers and weapons, relaying messages between group members, and preparing propaganda materials.
One of the episodes for which he was prosecuted in the US was the attack near Kabul airport in August 2021. According to the US Justice Department, Sharifullah was tasked with checking the route to the airport for checkpoints. After he reported that the road was clear, an explosion occurred at Abbey Gate. As a result of that attack, 13 US service members and more than 160 civilians were killed.
Sharifullah was detained in 2025 near the Afghan-Pakistani border and subsequently transferred to the United States. The White House previously stated that during interrogations he confessed to involvement in the Kabul attack and also provided information about other attacks in Russia and Iran. Recall that the final verdict in the Crocus City Hall attack case was delivered by the Western District Military Court on March 12, 2026. Fifteen defendants received life sentences. Among them were four direct perpetrators (Shamsidin Fariduni, Dalerjon Mirzoev, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, and Saidakrami Rachabalizoda) and a group of 11 accomplices. One of them, Yakubjon Yusufzoda, sentenced to life imprisonment, later committed suicide in a pre-trial detention center in Moscow.
Source: podrobno.uz