Three foreigners arrested in Kabul this week were on a freelance counter-terrorism mission, the Afghan government says. They include at least one US national, Jonathan K Idema, a purported former US special services soldier who says he helped fight the Taleban in 2001. The men were detained for illegally holding Afghans in a private prison.
The Interior Minister, Ali Ahmad Jalali, said their activities had no legal standing. US officials say Mr Idema had tried to pass himself off as an American government or military official.
| "I'm from the government. I'm here to help. Stick 'em up!" |
The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul says this is the first official confirmation that Mr Idema and his group may have been acting beyond the control of US forces or the Afghan government in hunting alleged members of al Qaeda and the Taleban.
| Wonder who put up the money? |
The interior minister said Mr Idema and his colleagues had arrested eight people from across Afghanistan and imprisoned them. "They apparently said that their aims were to act against those carrying out terrorist attacks," Mr Jalali told journalists in Kabul. "But they did not have a legal relationship with anyone and the United States was also chasing them - they are actually rebels," he said. Earlier this week the US embassy warned journalists in Kabul about Mr Idema who says he helped anti-Taleban rebels fight the hard-line Islamic regime back in 2001. "The public should be aware that Idema does not represent the American government and we do not employ him," a US statement said.
Security sources have told the BBC that the US military circulated warning notices about Mr Idema some time ago, describing him as armed and dangerous and accusing him of interfering with military operations in Afghanistan. Mr Idema has offered his services to the western media as an expert on fighting the Taleban and as Qaeda and has also featured in a bestselling book, The Hunt for Osama bin Laden.
| Why does "Soldier of Fortune" magazine suddenly come to mind? If he's not a writer for them I'll wager he has a lifetime subscription. |
The three men were arrested by Afghan police and intelligence officials in a district of Kabul on Monday. Reports on Wednesday said all three were American. But the nationalities of the other two are not clear.
Additional:
Three Americans arrested in Afghanistan were on a self-appointed counterterrorism mission that included abusing eight inmates in a private jail by hanging them by their feet, Afghan officials said Thursday.
The U.S. Embassy identified one of the men detained Monday in a raid in Kabul as Jonathan K. Idema, a purported former Green Beret who claims to have links with Afghan militia forces. Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said the three men had, along with four Afghans also arrested Monday, "formed a group and pretended they were fighting terrorism."
"Yer under arrest, Idema!"
"What's the charge?"
"Fighting terrorism without a license! Book 'im, Danno!" |
"They arrested eight people from across Kabul and put them in their jail," Jalali said at a news conference. Another Afghan security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said intelligence and police officials found the prisoners hung by their feet. "They were hanging upside down," the official said on condition of anonymity. The official said reports on the case showed that the men were beaten, though he had no details.
| No word on if any panties were found. |
| Bananas? Plaintains? Cabbages? |
Idema, described in media reports as an ex-special forces soldier in his 40s, cropped up in Afghanistan in the winter of 2001 when U.S. and allied Afghan forces routed the Taliban. He offered his services to Western TV networks, including a videotape showing a purported al-Qaida training facility near Kabul, and later featured in a top-selling book called "The Hunt for Osama bin Laden." Afghan police and intelligence officers seized the men Monday in downtown Kabul. Jalali said the men were operating in Kabul under the guise of working for an export company.
| I Googled "Jonathan K Idema" and found a "Keith Idema" who is quoted as a expert in the Waco investigation. Keith Idema, (Special Forces and Special Operations units from 1975 to 1992) helped train hostage rescue team personnel for both Delta Force and the FBI and who spoke just days ago to a Delta Force commando present at the final tear-gas assault, says this statement shows how Delta Force cringed over getting involved at Waco. Bet he's the same guy. |
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