U.S. military advisers from the 1st security Force Assistance Brigade walk at an Afghan National Army base in Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan August 6, 2018. REUTERS James Mackenzie :
NEW YORK, Oct. 15 Reuters - A former Taliban commander accused of kidnapping an American journalist is expected to plead not guilty on Friday to murdering three U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan in 2008.
U.S. prosecutors in Kabul argued over the weekend that Haji Najibullah has been killed in Afghanistan for keeping Taliban troops under command.
The Taliban fighters under Najibullah's command attacked a U.S. military convoy, killing U.S. Army Sergeants First Class Matthew Hilton and Joseph McKay, Sergeant Mark Palmateer and their unnamed Afghan interpreter, according to an indictment unsealed on Oct 7th, 2021.
Najibullah, an attorney for Andrew Dalack, said his client would plead not guilty to the charges, which include providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, murdering U.S. nationals, kidnapping and hostage-taking.
In August, Taliban held power in Afghanistan after being ousted in a U.S. lead invasion almost 20 years later. Washington is pressing the Taliban to release a kidnapped American and to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a hotbed for extremist groups. Senior U.S. and Taliban officials held their first face-to-face meeting in Doha over the weekend.
The latest indictment comes a year after prosecutors accused Najibullah of kidnapping an American journalist in 2008.
Though prosecutors didn't name the journalist, a law enforcement official familiar with the matter told Reuters last year that the case involved David Rohde. Katherine Polk Failla, who pleaded not guilty to kidnapping charges, is expected to appear before the U.S. District Judge on Friday.
If convicted, he faces life in prison.