Former Taliban Commander Sentenced to 42 Years in Prison for Hostage Taking and Providing Material Support for Acts of Terrorism Resulting in Death

Haji Najibullah, 50, of Afghanistan, also known as "Najibullah Naim," also known as "Abu Tayeb," also known as "Atiqullah," also known as "Nesar Ahmad Mohammad," was sentenced to 42 years in prison and five years of supervised release for terrorism charges based on his role in the hostage taking of an American journalist and two Afghan nationals in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2008 and 2009, and his leadership of Taliban fighters who carried out attacks on U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009, resulting in the deaths of American soldiers and other victims. On April 25, 2025, Najibullah pleaded guilty to hostage taking and providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death. Today's sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

"Those who harm Americans and engage in acts of terrorism will be hunted down and brought to justice, no matter how long it takes," said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. "As a Taliban commander, Najibullah supported brutal terrorist attacks that killed American servicemembers and orchestrated the savage hostage-taking of an American journalist and Afghan civilians. Today's sentence delivers justice for the victims and their families."

"Najibullah commanded Taliban fighters responsible for enforcing the Taliban's ruthless reign of terror, including fighters who carried out the 2008 attack that killed three U.S. servicemembers and their interpreter," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. "However incomplete, today's sentence delivers long-awaited accountability and a measure of justice to the families of the victims."

"This former Taliban commander led fighters who committed acts of terrorism that resulted in the killing of U.S. servicemembers and engaged in hostage-taking, and now he will pay the price for his brutal crimes," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "The men and women of the FBI will not forget when Americans are killed or taken hostage by terrorists. We will find you no matter where you are and work with our partners to bring you to justice."

"Haji Najibullah, a former Taliban commander, is a convicted terrorist whose conduct resulted in the brutal hostage taking of innocent civilians and the killing of U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. "He caused unimaginable harm to the victims of his crimes and their loved ones. Today's sentence sends a clear message that there will be dire consequences for those who aim to harm Americans and our brave military personnel through acts of terror. Our Office, and our dedicated partners in law enforcement, will continue to investigate, prosecute, and bring to justice terrorists around the world."

As reflected in the charging instruments, court filings, and statements in the public record:

Starting in or around October 2001, as a result of the U.S. and NATO-led invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Taliban - a militant Islamist organization that provided safe harbor to some of the world's most dangerous terrorists, including Osama bin Laden -engaged in a deadly insurgency campaign aimed at killing U.S. servicemembers and their allies and terrorizing civilians. As part of that campaign of jihadist violence, the Taliban conducted numerous suicide bombings, targeted killings, assassinations, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, paramilitary ambushes, and hostage takings against military personnel and civilians.

Between in or around 2007 and 2009, Najibullah served as a Taliban commander in Afghanistan's Wardak Province, which borders Kabul. During that time, Taliban fighters under his command were prepared to and did carry out deadly attacks against American and NATO troops and their Afghan allies, using, among other things, (i) suicide bombers, (ii) automatic weapons, (iii) IEDs, and (iv) rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and other anti-tank weapons and explosives, including against U.S. military helicopters. Najibullah proudly spoke about the brutality of the attacks that he and his men were prepared to conduct, including by stating that his men were "ready to die" and "put on a belt and blow themselves up if we ask them."

On or about June 26, 2008, Taliban fighters under Najibullah's command ambushed and attacked a U.S. military convoy in the vicinity of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, with IEDs, RPGs, and automatic weapons, killing three U.S. Army servicemembers: Sergeants First Class Matthew L. Hilton and Joseph A. McKay and Sergeant Mark Palmateer, as well as their Afghan interpreter. Several other servicemembers were also injured in the attack. Najibullah later claimed responsibility for the attack, telling multiple individuals that his men carried out the attack and that it resulted in the deaths of U.S. servicemembers. A few months later, he and fighters under his command attacked and destroyed an Afghan National Police outpost using automatic weapons and rockets, reportedly killing three Afghan police officers.

Najibullah's campaign of terror also was directed at civilians. On or about Nov. 10, 2008, Najibullah and other Taliban fighters kidnapped an American New York Times journalist (Hostage-1) and two Afghan nationals traveling with Hostage-1 at gunpoint in Afghanistan. For the next approximately seven months, Najibullah held the hostages captive in the Taliban-controlled tribal areas of Pakistan, under the constant watch of guards armed with machineguns. Najibullah and his co-conspirators forced the hostages to make ransom calls and proof of life videos, intended to extort ransom payments and the release of Taliban prisoners by the United States Government, and during which the hostages emotionally pleaded for their lives. In one such video, Najibullah forced Hostage-1 to say, with a machinegun pointed at his head, "If you don't help me, I will die. Now, the key is in your hand. . . . If you do not meet their demands, you will be responsible for my killing, not the Taliban. Please help me, please have mercy on me. Do not shed my blood. Please, save me. I want to go home." Eventually, the hostages were able to escape and return to their families.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the NYPD. He also thanked the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police, the Department of Defense, and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice's National Security Division for their assistance with this investigation, as well as the Ukrainian authorities and the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department's Criminal Division for their assistance in the arrest and transfer of the defendant.

This prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York's National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Jacob H. Gutwillig, and David J. Robles are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Jennifer Burke of the Department of Justice's Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.