NEW YORK - A federal judge sentenced former Taliban commander Haji Najibullah, 50, to 42 years in prison and five years of supervised release for hostage taking and providing material support for terrorism resulting in the deaths of American soldiers in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla imposed the sentence in the Southern District of New York. Najibullah pleaded guilty on April 25, 2025, to charges stemming from his command of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s Wardak Province, where they carried out deadly attacks on U.S. and NATO forces using suicide bombers, IEDs, rocket-propelled grenades, and automatic weapons. “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.”
On June 26, 2008, Taliban fighters under Najibullah’s command ambushed a U.S. military convoy near Wardak Province 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 — along with their Afghan interpreter. Several other servicemembers were injured. Najibullah later claimed responsibility, telling multiple individuals his men carried out the attack. A few months later, fighters under his command attacked and destroyed an Afghan National Police outpost, reportedly killing three Afghan police officers.
Najibullah’s terrorism extended to civilians. On Nov. 10, 2008, he and other Taliban fighters kidnapped an American New York Times journalist and two Afghan nationals at gunpoint in Afghanistan. For approximately seven months, Najibullah held the hostages captive in Taliban-controlled tribal areas of Pakistan under the constant watch of guards armed with machineguns. The hostages were forced to make ransom calls and proof-of-life videos demanding payments and the release of Taliban prisoners. In one video, Najibullah forced the journalist 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.” The hostages eventually escaped and returned to their families.
“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.”
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg called the sentence “long-awaited accountability,” noting that 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.” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York said the 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.”
Najibullah, also known as Najibullah Naim, Abu Tayeb, Atiqullah, and Nesar Ahmad Mohammad, was arrested with the assistance of Ukrainian authorities and the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. The prosecution was handled by the Southern District of New York’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Jacob H. Gutwillig, and David J. Robles leading the case alongside Trial Attorney Jennifer Burke of the Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section.