Taliban Detainees

Over 10 days after the Taliban captured Kabul following the collapse of the US-backed government, they are now switching focus to how to run a country in crisis.

US officials have been in touch with leaders in Qatar about five Taliban detainees transferred there from the Guantanamo Bay prison and steps needed to protect the American people, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Friday.

Afghan authorities tortured or mistreated more than a third of nearly 800 suspected Taliban-linked detainees who human rights investigators were able to interview, the United Nations said today.

The United States has pulled out of all prisons in Afghanistan and no longer holds any detainees, a US official confirmed, as Washington extricates itself from the war-torn country.

US troops in Afghanistan have handed over three Pakistani detainees to Islamabad, a statement said Sunday, and a security source said one of them was a senior Pakistani Taliban commander.

Even with the release of five Taliban detainees in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (boh BURG'-dahl), there are few indications the militant group will head into peace talks with the Afghan government anytime soon.

The Obama administration has quietly repatriated a dozen detainees from a small U.S. military prison in Afghanistan, moving a modest step closer toward winding down the United States' controversial post-9/11 detainee system.

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel delivered an aggressive defense of the secret prisoner exchange of five Taliban detainees for a U.S. soldier, telling Congress that the risks were too great and the situation too uncertain for the administration to tell lawmakers about the plan.

Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel on Wednesday staunchly defended the swap of five Taliban detainees for US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, insisting it was the "right decision" despite the risks involved.

For President Barack Obama, it seemed like the right thing to do, according to officials in his administration: Release five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison in return for Bowe Bergdahl, the only known American prisoner of war in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama's goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison is facing re-energized opposition from Republicans and increased questioning from fellow Democrats amid widespread anger in Congress over the swap of five Taliban detainees for the last American prisoner of war in Afghanistan.

An Iraqi "high-value" detainee at Guantanamo, accused of being an Al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was referred to a military court on terror charges, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday defended his decision to release five Afghan detainees from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for an American soldier's freedom, saying his administration had consulted with Congress "for some time" about that possibility.

The exchange of five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo for a U.S. Army soldier held captive in Afghanistan could set a precedent for a similar swap with Cuba, a Cuban intelligence agent who spent years imprisoned in the United States said Monday.

The US decision to release five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay in order to recover a soldier held in Afghanistan sparked a furor in Washington, with Republicans warning Sunday the move put Americans at risk.

Over 10 days after the Taliban captured Kabul following the collapse of the US-backed government, they are now switching focus to how to run a country in crisis.

US officials have been in touch with leaders in Qatar about five Taliban detainees transferred there from the Guantanamo Bay prison and steps needed to protect the American people, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Friday.

Afghan authorities tortured or mistreated more than a third of nearly 800 suspected Taliban-linked detainees who human rights investigators were able to interview, the United Nations said today.

The United States has pulled out of all prisons in Afghanistan and no longer holds any detainees, a US official confirmed, as Washington extricates itself from the war-torn country.

US troops in Afghanistan have handed over three Pakistani detainees to Islamabad, a statement said Sunday, and a security source said one of them was a senior Pakistani Taliban commander.

Even with the release of five Taliban detainees in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (boh BURG'-dahl), there are few indications the militant group will head into peace talks with the Afghan government anytime soon.

The Obama administration has quietly repatriated a dozen detainees from a small U.S. military prison in Afghanistan, moving a modest step closer toward winding down the United States' controversial post-9/11 detainee system.

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel delivered an aggressive defense of the secret prisoner exchange of five Taliban detainees for a U.S. soldier, telling Congress that the risks were too great and the situation too uncertain for the administration to tell lawmakers about the plan.

Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel on Wednesday staunchly defended the swap of five Taliban detainees for US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, insisting it was the "right decision" despite the risks involved.

For President Barack Obama, it seemed like the right thing to do, according to officials in his administration: Release five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison in return for Bowe Bergdahl, the only known American prisoner of war in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama's goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison is facing re-energized opposition from Republicans and increased questioning from fellow Democrats amid widespread anger in Congress over the swap of five Taliban detainees for the last American prisoner of war in Afghanistan.

An Iraqi "high-value" detainee at Guantanamo, accused of being an Al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was referred to a military court on terror charges, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday defended his decision to release five Afghan detainees from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for an American soldier's freedom, saying his administration had consulted with Congress "for some time" about that possibility.

The exchange of five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo for a U.S. Army soldier held captive in Afghanistan could set a precedent for a similar swap with Cuba, a Cuban intelligence agent who spent years imprisoned in the United States said Monday.

The US decision to release five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay in order to recover a soldier held in Afghanistan sparked a furor in Washington, with Republicans warning Sunday the move put Americans at risk.