` tags.
The DOJ has identified Mohammad Sharifullah, an ISIS-K member, as having ties to the fatal Crocus City Hall attack in Russia.
US authorities have apprehended a suspect connected to multiple terrorist incidents, including the deadly Crocus City Hall concert venue attack in Moscow in March 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.
The DOJ identified the suspect as Mohammad Sharifullah, an Afghan national and member of ISIS-K, an ISIS affiliate primarily operating in Afghanistan. CNN reports that Sharifullah was transferred to the US from Pakistan earlier this week.
Sharifullah is charged with “providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death,” the DOJ stated. A conviction could result in a life sentence.
US authorities stated that Sharifullah confessed to the FBI that he instructed the Crocus City Hall attackers on weapon usage. He also identified two of the gunmen as individuals he had trained.
The March 2024 attack, carried out by four gunmen, was one of the most devastating terrorist events in recent Russian history, resulting in 145 fatalities and over 500 injuries.
Russian law enforcement apprehended all of the gunmen as they attempted to cross the border into Ukraine. Approximately three dozen individuals have been arrested in connection with the case.
The DOJ also alleges Sharifullah’s involvement in the terrorist attack against US forces at the Kabul airport during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
That suicide bombing killed 13 US service members and about 160 civilians. Sharifullah admitted to the FBI that he scouted the route for the suicide bomber to avoid detection. He is also suspected of providing surveillance for another suicide bombing outside the Canadian Embassy in Kabul in 2016, which killed more than ten guards.
CNN reports that Sharifullah was apprehended in Pakistan based on CIA intelligence. Former US President Donald Trump thanked Pakistan for its assistance in the arrest. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif acknowledged the arrest and thanked the US for recognizing Pakistan’s role.