From Prison to Power

From Prison to Power

Four of the so-called “Taliban Five” have been named to key roles in the Taliban’s new “caretaker” government in Afghanistan following the terrorist group’s takeover of the country after the militant leaders were released from detention at Guantanamo Bay in a prisoner exchange for U.S. Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl.

A Taliban spokesman said the group had appointed Mullah Noorullah Noori to be the acting minister of borders and tribal affairs, Abdul Haq Wasiq to be the acting director of intelligence, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa to be the acting minister of information and broadcasting, and Mullah Mohammad Fazil to be the deputy defense minister. The fifth of the five, Mohammad Nabi Omari, was reportedly appointed to be the governor of Khost Province in eastern Afghanistan last month.

The five men had been members of the Taliban government prior to its overthrow by U.S. forces in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Before being sent to Guantanamo Bay, Noori was a Taliban governor and is believed to have been involved in the massacres of thousands of Hazara, Uzbek, and other Shiite minorities.

Wasiq was a member of the Taliban’s intelligence services and worked with outside terrorist organizations.

Khairkhwa helped found the Taliban, worked with terrorist groups, and was close to Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar and Osama bin Laden.

Fazil was a high-ranking official in the Taliban military and also engaged in large-scale ethno-sectarian killing.

Omari was accused of having connections to al Qaeda, the Haqqani network, and other terrorist groups.