Washington:

Trump, in his first address to Congress since returning to the White House for a second term, said the US government is extraditing the suspect in the deadly Abbey Gate bombing in the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal that killed 13 American servicemembers.

An Islamic State operative allegedly responsible for a deadly 2021 suicide bombing outside Kabul airport during the chaotic US military withdrawal has been arrested by Pakistan, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday as he thanked the country for nabbing "this monster".

The White House identified the man as Muhammed Sharifullah and said he was on his way to the US to face charges. FBI Director Kash Patel said the extradition was the result of work by the FBI, Justice Department and CIA.

The bomber detonated a device among packed crowds as they tried to flee Afghanistan on August 26, 2021. The blast killed some 170 Afghans and 13 US troops securing the perimeter. In April 2023, the White House announced that an Islamic State official involved in plotting the attack had been killed in an operation by Afghanistan's new Taliban government.

The US President announced that Pakistan had assisted in the arrest of "the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity." "And he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice," he said, taking a swipe at his predecessor Joe Biden's oversight of the "disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan."

He thanked Pakistan "for helping arrest this monster" but gave no details of the suspect or the arrest operation. A report by the US news platform Axios, citing two unidentified US officials, said Sharifullah is in the process of being extradited from Pakistan to the United States and is expected to arrive on Wednesday. (With agency inputs)

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