{"id":48142,"date":"2021-10-08T15:02:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T22:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48142"},"modified":"2021-10-08T15:02:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-08T22:02:13","slug":"former-taliban-commander-charged-with-killing-u-s-troops-in-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48142","title":{"rendered":"Former Taliban Commander Charged with Killing U.S. Troops in 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Haji Najibullah, previously charged with kidnapping an American journalist, was indicted Thursday for the 2002 attacks on U.S. service members in Afghanistant, according to officials.<\/span><\/div>\n
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CNN Image of Taliban Fighter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The attacks resulted in the deaths of three U.S. soldiers and their Afghan interpreter, officials stated.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A federal grand jury in New York unsealed the superseding indictment Thursday charging an Afghanistan national with federal terrorism-related offenses spanning approximately 2007 to 2009 when he was a\u00a0 Taliban commander in Afghanistan, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents, Haji Najibullah, aka Najibullah Naim, Abu Tayeb, Atiqullah and Nesar Ahmad Mohammad, 45, of Afghanistan, was previously charged with crimes related to the 2008 kidnapping of an American journalist and two Afghan nationals. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"In addition to those charges, the indictment charges Najibullah with attacks on U.S. troops conducted by Najibullah and the Taliban fighters under his command, including a June 26, 2008, attack on an American military convoy that killed three U.S. Army servicemembers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. soldiers were Sergeants First Class Matthew L. Hilton and Joseph A. McKay, and Sergeant Mark Palmateer \u2013 and their Afghan interpreter.<\/span><\/p>\n

An Oct. 27, 2008, attack resulted in the shooting down of a U.S. military helicopter.<\/span><\/p>\n

In October 2020, Najibullah was arrested and extradited from Ukraine to the U.S. where he remains in federal custody, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs alleged, during one of the most dangerous periods of the conflict in Afghanistan, Haji Najibullah led a vicious band of Taliban insurgents who terrorized part of Afghanistan and attacked U.S. troops,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss for the Southern District of New York.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents, as of in or about 2007, Najibullah was the Taliban commander responsible for the Jaghato district in Afghanistan\u2019s Wardak Province, which borders Kabul. <\/span><\/p>\n

In this role, Najibullah commanded more than a thousand fighters, at times acted as a spokesperson for the Taliban, and reported to senior leadership in the Taliban. <\/span><\/p>\n

During that time, Najibullah and the Taliban fighters under his command conducted attacks intended to kill and which did kill American and NATO troops and their Afghan allies, using automatic weapons, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and other anti-tank weapons, including an attack that destroyed an Afghan Border Patrol outpost in or about September 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n

On or about June 26, 2008, Taliban fighters under Najibullah\u2019s command attacked a U.S. military convoy in the vicinity of Sayed Abad, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, with IEDs, RPGs, and automatic weapons, killing three U.S. Army servicemembers, Sergeants First Class Matthew L. Hilton and Joseph A. McKay, and Sergeant Mark Palmateer, and their Afghan interpreter.<\/span><\/p>\n

On or about Oct. 27, 2008, Taliban fighters under Najibullah\u2019s command shot down a U.S. military helicopter using RPGs in the vicinity of Sayed Abad, Wardak Province, Afghanistan. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Taliban subsequently claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter, asserting that it was \u201cshot down [by] the mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate.\u201d The Taliban also falsely claimed that \u201c[a]ll those onboard were killed,\u201d when, in fact, no troops died as a result of the attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

On or about Nov. 10, 2008, Najibullah and his co-conspirators, armed with machineguns, kidnapped an American journalist (Victim-1) and two Afghan nationals who were assisting Victim-1 (Victim-2 and Victim-3) at gunpoint in Afghanistan. <\/span><\/p>\n

About five days later, on or about Nov. 15, 2008, Najibullah and his co-conspirators forced the three hostages to hike across the border from Afghanistan to Pakistan, where Najibullah and his co-conspirators detained the hostages.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the next seven months, Najibullah and his co-conspirators held the hostages captive in Pakistan.<\/span><\/p>\n

During their captivity, Najibullah and his co-conspirators forced the victims to make numerous calls and videos seeking help.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, on or about Nov. 19, 2008, while in Pakistan, Najibullah and a co-conspirator (CC-1) directed Victim-1 to call his wife in New York. In one of the videos, Victim-1 \u2013 the American journalist \u2013 was forced to beg for his life while a guard pointed a machinegun at Victim-1\u2019s face. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Najibullah is charged with conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death; providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death; conspiring to murder U.S. nationals; murdering U.S. nationals Hilton, McKay, and Palmateer; murdering officers and employees of the United States, and a person assisting them in their duties, by killing Hilton, McKay, Palmateer, and their interpreter; attempting to murder officers and employees of the United States; conspiring to destroy U.S. military aircraft; destroying a U.S. military aircraft; conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction; conspiring to take hostages; hostage-taking; conspiring to commit kidnapping; and kidnapping.<\/span><\/p>\n

If convicted of the charges, the defendant is facing up to life in prison.\u00a0 Najibullah is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK Haji Najibullah, previously charged with kidnapping an American journalist, was indicted Thursday for the 2002 attacks on U.S. service members in Afghanistant, according to officials. 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