WASHINGTON — This is the terrorist accused by the Trump administration of plotting the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 US service members and 168 Afghans trying to flee the Taliban in August 2021.

The Post obtained a snapshot of alleged ISIS-K bigwig Mohammad Sharifullah, escorted by two FBI agents, as his extradition flight touched down at Dulles Airport in northern Virginia early Wednesday. 

President Trump announced Sharifullah’s capture and extradition to the US Tuesday night during his address to a joint session of Congress.

“Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing,” Trump told lawmakers and a TV audience of millions.

“Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.” 

Prior to announcing Sharifullah’s capture, the president shared the news with the families of the fallen, who have been waiting for accountability both for the savage suicide attack by ISIS-K and for the diplomatic and military debacle wrought by the Biden administration.

“This was the best news yesterday! We got a phone call earlier in the day from President Trump telling us the great news,” Gold Star dad Darin Hoover, the father of Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, texted The Post.

“Joy and relief that FINALLY someone was going to be held accountable for killing our kids,” Hoover added. “We begged for three years for this to happen and it didn’t.  President Trump has said all along that when he got back to the White House, people would start to be held accountable.  Promises made, Promises kept.  And it was all done [in] less than 40 days.”

Cheryl Jules, the aunt of Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee, said the Gold Star families were “crying” when they heard the news on Tuesday. 

“To get that news, it floored us. We were all crying. We had no expectations of that at all. It just made it even more real,” Jules said.

The Gold Star families were told by Trump that Sharifullah was in “secure” custody, adding: “He’s not going anywhere and he’s going to be held accountable.”

Jules also said it was a “huge relief” for the relatives of the slain US troops to hear of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as secretary of defense last month.

She noted that Hegseth — who was prodded by Trump in his first cabinet meeting last week to consider firing military officials responsible for the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal — was conducting his own investigation into the Abbey Gate attack.

“They’ve never really done a thorough after-action report and found they can make changes,” she added. “If we can make some changes so that this doesn’t happen again, that’s the best legacy we can leave our kids.”

“If that would’ve happened after Saigon or Benghazi,” she added, “maybe our kids would still be alive.”

The US charged Sharifullah on Sunday with conspiring with a designated terror organization to carry out a deadly attack. 

The terrorist admitted to the FBI that he aided in preparing the Abbey Gate bombing that took the lives of 13 service members — including scouting a route for the terrorist carrying the bomb to Hamid Karzai International Airport, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Sharifullah also admitted to aiding ISIS terrorists in carrying out an attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow on March 22, 2024, which took the lives of 145 people.

FBI Director Kash Patel, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the National Security Council all played a part in getting the terrorist on US soil.

“Hostage rescues and counterterrorism have always been at the core of Kash Patel’s mission,” former Patel spokesperson Erica Knight told The Post. “His unwavering commitment to bringing Americans home and dismantling threats has set a standard of excellence and courage that our nation can rely on.”