The former Taliban commander pleaded guilty to taking hostages, including the deaths of American journalists and US forces, the Justice Department said Friday.
Haji Najibla, 49, pleaded guilty to holding and providing material support for terrorist acts hostages in relation to his role in filming an American journalist and two Afghan citizens in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2008 and 2009. The death of an American soldier.
The Taliban will free American hostage George Grezman after negotiations with us, Qatar
In this court sketch, former Taliban commander Haji Najibla, who was previously accused of luring American journalists, appears in a charge related to the murder of three US troops in Afghanistan during a court hearing in New York in 2008. (Reuters)
“Najibla committed a crime in Afghanistan more than 15 years ago and is now facing justice in American courts,” US lawyer Jay Clayton said in a statement. “Today’s guilty plea reminds us that this office and our law enforcement partners emphasize the positive pursuit of those who harm Americans through acts of fear, no matter how long they are in the world and how long it takes to achieve justice for the victims.”
The charges against Najibla stem from attacks on the US convoy that led to the invitation of journalists and the death of the US military forces. Class 1 Matthew L. Hilton and Joseph A. McKay, and Sgt. Mark Palmater – Afghanistan interpreter in June 2008.
Several other soldiers were injured in the attack.
Fay Hall, an American who was detained by the Taliban, has been released
Taliban Fighters Patrol during the celebrations marking the second anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan in Kandahar, south of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Abdul Khaliq)
He was also charged in an October attack in which a US military helicopter was shot down in the same year. That November, a fighter under Najibla’s command took an American journalist and two Afghan nationals hostage at the Afghan muzzle.
They were forced to hike to neighbouring Pakistan, where they were forced to create a video calling for ransom payments and the release of Taliban terrorists held by the US government, federal prosecutors said.
Click here to get the Fox News app
The Taliban commander was in charge of the Jagaat district of Afghanistan’s Waldak province, court documents say. He had more than 1,000 men under his command, but he attacked the US and NATO forces outside of Kabul.
Najibla was arrested and handed over from Ukraine in October 2020, and is currently gaining federal custody in the United States.
He faces life sentence in prison.
