US charges former Taliban commander with killing US troops

US authorities on Thursday charged a former Taliban commander with killing US troops in 2008.

In a statement  the US Department of Justice said: "Haji Najibullah, previously charged in the 2008 kidnapping of an American journalist, was also indicted today for 2008 attacks on US Service members in Afghanistan, including attacks resulting in the deaths of three American soldiers and their Afghan interpreter and the downing of a US helicopter."

News of the indictment comes on the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001.

What are the charges in detail?

The charge relates to offenses committed against US troops between 2007 and 2009.

In one instance he is accused of being involved in, three service personnel were killed on June 26, 2008 when their convoy was attacked.

In another incident Najibullah and fighters under his command allegedly downed a US military helicopter with RPGs in October 2008. Its understood that at the time the Taliban claimed that all those on board had perished, when in fact, no one was killed.

The former commander is also alleged to have been involved in the kidnapping of an American journalist along with two Afghan nationals in November 2008.

Their three hostages were forced to hike over the border into Pakistan where they were then detained for the next seven months. The statement alleges that the kidnappers made calls to the journalist's wife in which he was made to beg for his life at gunpoint.

Prosecutor Audrey Strauss said in the statement:"As 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 US troops." 

Najibullah was arrested in October 2020 and extradited from Ukraine to the US where he is being held.

What is the current situation in Afghanistan?

The country is battling humanitarian and economic crises. Since the Taliban seized control in August there has been a cash crunch which has seen foreign assets frozen.

The new Taliban government has been trying to foster relations with the global community in an attempt to free up resources.

Speaking to DW, former Afghan diplomat Omar Samad said there aren't many options available when it comes to diplomatic relations with the new government. "We have limited choices. Either we isolate Afghanistan, we isolate the Taliban and we isolate 35 million people after all these years. Or we engage in such a way that it sends the right messages but does not promote oppression."

Samad also suggested that "we engage in some ways by recognizing the Taliban and hoping that they will change over time or hoping that they would be a good partner in so many different fields, including counterterrorism."

There has been a level of hesitance among western powers to engage with the new leadership due to its human rights track record and treatment of women.Western states have decided that future engagement will depend on certain conditions.

Among those conditions — the new government must be inclusive and respect the rights of women and minorities.

Reuters contributed to this report.