A member of the Islamic State group was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Wednesday for providing material support to the group responsible for a deadly 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul airport. The attack, carried out by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and approximately 160 Afghan civilians during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

Mohammad Sharifullah, 28, was convicted in April by a federal jury in Virginia on one count of providing material support to ISKP. While jurors could not reach a unanimous decision on whether he had direct responsibility for the bombing itself, prosecutors said Sharifullah helped facilitate the attack by scouting routes to Hamid Karzai International Airport, where the suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device near a heavily guarded entry point known as Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021.

At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga, Sharifullah, who did not testify at trial or make a statement in court, received the maximum penalty allowed. Judge Trenga described Sharifullah as a “dedicated terrorist” who showed no remorse for the profound suffering caused by the attack.

Several family members of the American victims delivered impact statements in court, expressing the lasting pain left by the bombing. Mark Schmitz of Missouri spoke about his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl Jared Schmitz, who was among those killed. “They may have taken his life, but they’ll never take his legacy,” he said. Another victim’s mother, Paula Knauss-Sehlp, whose son Army Staff Sgt Ryan Knauss died in the attack, described the family’s loss as irreversible, saying, “No justice will ever be enough to mend my broken heart.”

Sharifullah’s lawyers argued he was not a leader within ISKP and denied involvement in the suicide bombing, noting that the government could not prove his participation in the specific attack during the trial. They requested a 17-year sentence. Prosecutors, however, portrayed Sharifullah as motivated by hatred toward Americans, pointing to a pledge of allegiance he made to ISKP in his teenage years and emphasizing the deadly consequences of his actions.

The attack on Kabul airport was a significant incident during the final days of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, underscoring the persistent threat posed by ISKP in the region. Sharifullah’s sentencing marks a rare judicial outcome related to the deadly event that remains a deeply painful chapter for the families of those lost and for the U.S. military community.