RASC News Agency: Donald Trump, President of the United States, has announced that Pakistan, in coordination with the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), has successfully apprehended the mastermind behind the deadly attack at Abbey Gate of Kabul International Airport. Trump made this revelation during his address to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, March 5. According to Trump, the suspected orchestrator of the suicide bombing is currently being transferred to the United States for prosecution. Meanwhile, the news outlet Axios has identified the suspect as Mohammad Sharif, a senior leader of the Afghanistan-Pakistan branch of ISIS.
During his speech, Trump declared, “I am pleased to announce that we have successfully captured the senior terrorist responsible for this horrific tragedy.” He further commended the Pakistani government for its cooperation in the intelligence-led operation. An Axios report indicates that Mohammad Sharif also known by the alias “Jafar” is set to be extradited to the United States on Wednesday. Notably, in April 2023, the Taliban had claimed to have eliminated a high-ranking ISIS-K leader linked to the Abbey Gate attack a claim that the Biden administration had subsequently confirmed, though without disclosing further details.
Two senior U.S. intelligence officials informed Axios that on his second day in office, Trump had directed CIA Director John Ratcliffe to prioritize the capture of the Kabul airport bombing suspect. The officials further revealed that Ratcliffe engaged with his Pakistani counterpart, General Asif Malik, to facilitate intelligence-sharing and operational coordination. According to the report, Asif Malik, acting on intelligence provided by the CIA, successfully apprehended the suspect at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
The Abbey Gate suicide bombing, which occurred during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, resulted in the tragic deaths of approximately 170 Afghanistani civilians and 13 U.S. service members.
