Russian Convicted for Leading Failed Taliban Attack on US Forces in Afghanistan
A U.S. federal court has convicted a former Russian tank commander for leading a failed attack on U.S. and Afghan forces in Khost province in 2009.
Irek Hamidullin faces life in prison when he is sentenced in November.
U.S. forces captured him hiding in a battlefield after he and a group of Taliban and Haqqani Network fighters fired rockets into a military camp, then attempted to shoot down U.S. helicopters. Their rocket launchers malfunctioned.
U.S. forces killed 20 of the fighters when they tried to retreat across the border into Pakistan. No Americans were hurt.
A senior Federal Bureau of Investigation official says Hamidullin's conviction should be a reminder to terrorists that the FBI is committed to justice when Americans are attacked anywhere in the world.
