A so-called “Islamic State” (IS) operative — allegedly involved in planning the Kabul Abbey Gate suicide bombing that killed over 180 people — has been arrested and was being brought to the United States, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.
Trump made the comments during his first address to the Congress since being elected to the Oval Office for the second time.
He did not give more details about the arrest or the operation which led to the arrest, but thanked Pakistan for helping capture the “top terrorist responsible for that atrocity.”
A bomber detonated a device among packed crowds outside Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate, as people tried to flee Afghanistan days after the Taliban seized control of the capital in 2021.
The bombing killed 183 people, including 13 US troops securing the perimeter, according to the US Department of Defense.
“He is, right now, on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice,” Trump said, taking a shot at then President Joe Biden’s “disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
Who is the Afghan bombing suspect?
The White House has identified the man as Muhammed Sharifullah, saying he “orchestrated the Abbey Gate attack.”
News agency Associated Press, citing an unnamed US senior official, reported that Sharifullah was arrested late last month on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan by Pakistani officials.
US agents reportedly interrogated the man over the weekend and he confessed to his role in the attack, as well as a March 2024 attack in Moscow and several attacks in Iran.
It is currently not clear which charges Sharifullah will face.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrest would bring justice “one step closer” for the Americans killed in the attack and their families. His post on X did not mention the Afghans killed in the attack.
In 2023, US officials had said that the mastermind behind the Kabul airport suicide bombing had been killed by the Taliban.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
This article was originally published by a www.dw.com . Read the Original article here. .