An alleged Islamic State militant falsely confessed to helping plan a deadly suicide bombing at a Kabul airport during the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, a defense lawyer told jurors on Tuesday at the close of the man's trial in Virginia.
Jurors began deliberating after hearing attorneys' closing arguments in the federal trial of Mohammad Sharifullah, whose capture was heralded by President Donald Trump as he addressed a joint session of Congress last year. Approximately 160 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members were killed in the attack on Aug. 26, 2021, when a lone suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device near an airport entry point known as Abbey Gate.
