The five Taliban prisoners at Gitmo released by Barack Obama were identified today.
** Mohammed Fazl – commanded the main force fighting the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance in 2001, and served as chief of army staff under the Taliban regime. Fazl slaughtered thousands of Shiites.
** Mullah Norullah Noori – served as governor of Balkh province in the Taliban regime and played some role in coordinating the fight against the Northern Alliance.
** Mohammed Nabi Omari – the Taliban’s chief of communications and helped al Qaeda members escape from Afghanistan to Pakistan.
** Khairullah Khairkhwa – most prominent position was as governor of Herat province from 1999 to 2001, and he was alleged to have been “directly associated” with Osama bin Laden.
** Abdul Haq Wasiq – deputy chief of the Taliban regime’s intelligence service. His cousin was head of the service.
The five were released in exchange for US POW Bowe Bergdahl.
The Washington Free Beacon reported:
The five Taliban prisoners being turned over by the United States to Qatar in a deal with the Taliban for the release of a U.S. soldier on Saturday were listed by the Pentagon as “high-risk” detainees, including two implicated in the deaths of thousands of Shi’ite Muslims in Afghanistan.
A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the five men as: Mohammed Fazl, Mullah Norullah Noori, Mohammed Nabi, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Abdul Haq Wasiq. They were being placed in the custody of Qatar after the Taliban released U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held for nearly five years after being captured in Afghanistan.
Pentagon documents released by the WikiLeaks organization said all five were sent to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002, the year the detention facility opened. They were classified as “high-risk” detainees who were “likely to pose a threat” to the United States, its interests and allies.
Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa, one of five Guantanamo Bay detainees exchanged Saturday for Bowe Bergdahl, may have been directly associated with Osama bin Laden. (CNN)
