A revised indictment against Haji Najibullah accused him of commanding the Taliban fighters behind a fatal ambush of Matthew L. Hilton, Joseph A. McKay and Mark Palmateer in Afghanistan, also in 2008.
An Afghan
man already facing charges in the 2008 gunpoint kidnapping of a New York Times
reporter and another journalist was charged on Thursday in the killing of three
American soldiers.
The
document also alleges Najibullah helped down an American military helicopter in
a separate attack later in the year.
An
attorney for Najibullah, who’s in U.S. custody, declined Thursday to comment on
the new charges.
Najibullah,
45, was brought to the United States last year to face original charges
including hostage taking, conspiracy and kidnapping. Prosecutors alleged he
orchestrated the abduction of David Rohde, who then worked for the Times, and
Afghan journalist Tahir Ludin as they were heading to interview a Taliban
leader.
Both
victims made a dramatic escape from a Taliban-controlled compound in Pakistan’s
tribal areas more than seven months after their Nov. 10, 2008, kidnapping.
Their driver, Asadullah Mangal, was a third kidnapping victim and escaped a few
weeks after Ludin and Rohde.
An
arraignment for Najibullah is set for Oct. 15 in federal court in Manhattan. If
convicted, he faces life in prison.
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