Former Taliban commander Haji Najibullah, 50, has been sentenced to 42 years in prison and five years of supervised release on terrorism charges, the United States Department of Justice said on Tuesday.
The charges are based on his role as a Taliban commander in Afghanistan, on the border of Kabul, leading attacks against US serviceman and allies, between 2007 and 2009.
These attacks include the deadly June 2008 attack that killed three US Army servicemembers and their Afghan interpreter, as well as injuring several others.
A few months later, he led an attack against an Afghan National Police outpost which reportedly resulted in the death of three Afghan police officers.
Additional charges came from Najibullah’s actions against civilains, including taking an American New York Times journalist and two Afghan nationals hostage in 2008 and 2009.
The three were held for seven months under constant armed guard before eventually succeeding in escaping.
In April 2025, Najibullah pleaded guilty to taking hostages and supporting acts of terrorism that resulted in death.
According to the DOJ, he spoke of the men who had served under him and the acts they had done proudly, stating that the men were “ready to die” and “put on a belt and blow themselves up if we ask them.”
US will 'hunt down, bring to justice' those who harm Americans
“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.”
FBI Director Kash Patel added that Najibullah will “pay the price” for his past actions, and that the “men and women of the FBI will not forget when Americans are killed or taken hostage by terrorists.”
“However incomplete, today’s sentence delivers long‑awaited accountability and a measure of justice to the families of the victims, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.
Najibullah caused “unimaginable harm to the victims of his crimes and their loved ones,” added US Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “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.”
Clayton praised the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force and thanked the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police, the US Department of Defense, and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division for their efforts and aid in the investigation.
He also thanked the Ukrainian authorities and the International Affairs Office of the US Justice Department’s Criminal Division for their assistance in Najibullah’s arrest and transfer.