Detainee at Afghan Prison to Face Trial in U.S.

A Russian held for years by the U.S. military in Afghanistan will be flown to the United States to face trial, marking the first such transfer for a foreign fighter from the country, officials said Friday.

The detainee is one of 13 foreigners who remain under detention by U.S. authorities at a wing of the Parwan prison near Bagram in Afghanistan, on suspicion of fighting with Taliban insurgents.

"We can confirm that a detainee at the Parwan detention facility in Afghanistan will be transferred to law enforcement custody and brought to the United States for trial," a defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The detainee will face "terrorism-related charges" in federal court, the official said.

The detainee was a Russian national, known by the nom de guerre of Irek Hamidullan, who allegedly led insurgent attacks in 2009 that wounded or killed American forces, officials said, confirming media reports.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the case.

Although other detainees at Parwan have been quietly repatriated to other countries, this was the first time an inmate had been transferred to U.S. soil from the prison.

The American combat mission in Afghanistan is due to wrap up this year, and Washington is anxious to transfer the remaining foreign detainees at Parwan by the end of December.

A Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. military was seeking to transfer more detainees out of the prison, without confirming whether they might be flown to the United States for trial.

"The Defense Department is working diligently to transfer the handful of remaining non-Afghan detainees at the Afghan National Detention Facility-Parwan prior to December 31," Lieutenant Colonel Myles Caggins said.