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| Afghanistan |
| Former Soviet Talibanski found guilty on terrorism charges |
| 2015-08-08 |
| A former Soviet army officer accused of being a Taliban fighter was found guilty of terrorism charges on Friday by a federal jury in Richmond, Virginia, a court official said. Irek Hamidullin, 55, a former Soviet tank commander who converted to Islam, faced 15 counts ranging from supporting Death Eaters to firearms charges stemming from his orchestration of a 2009 attack on an Afghan Border Police base in eastern Afghanistan's Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... . He was the first military prisoner from Afghanistan to be tried in a U.S. federal court. The jury of seven men and five women deliberated more than eight hours before reaching their verdict. Prosecutors portrayed Hamidullin as the criminal mastermind of the attack whose goal was to lure U.S. troops into a trap and then pound them with heavy weapons and shoot down U.S. helicopters. "He clearly was setting up for American forces he knew would respond," said Assistant U.S. Attorney James Gillis. Hamidullin faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 6. His defense attorney had countered that there was insufficient proof that Hamidullin had intended to kill Americans. Hamidullin was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia last year. The charges include ordering his men to set up a machine gun and a recoilless rifle to bring down U.S. military helicopters. |
| Posted by:Anguper Hupomosing9418 |