Guantanamo detainees swapped for Bergdahl

Together with the announcement that U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was released after nearly five years of captivity came the news that five detainees at Guantanamo Bay were being transferred to Qatar.

These are photos, obtained by WikiLeaks that match the names of the detainees released by the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense would neither confirm nor deny their accuracy. Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa was an early member of the Taliban in 1994 and was interior minister during the Taliban's rule. He was arrested in Pakistan and was transferred to Guantanamo in May 2002. During questioning, Khairkhwa denied all knowledge of extremist activities.

A plane carrying the detainees left the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo, Cuba, after the announcement that Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2009, had been exchanged for the five men.

Saturday's transfer was brokered through the Qatari government, a senior Defense official said. According to senior administration officials, Qatar agreed to take custody of the detainees and provide assurances they would not pose a threat to the United States, including a one-year ban from travel out of Qatar.

Two senior administration officials confirmed the names of the five released detainees as Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Nori, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammad Nabi Omari.

They were mostly mid- to high-level officials in the Taliban regime and had been detained early in the war in Afghanistan, because of their positions within the Taliban, not because of ties to al Qaeda.

CNN has published photos obtained by WikiLeaks that match the names released by the Department of Defense of men exchanged for Bergdahl. The DoD would neither confirm nor deny the images' accuracy. And CNN has not been able to independently confirm their authenticity.

CNN profiled them two years ago, when their names first surfaced as candidates for a transfer as part of talks with the Taliban:

Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa

Khairkhwa was an early member of the Taliban in 1994 and was interior minister during the Taliban's rule. He hails from the same tribe as Afghan President Hamid Karzai and was captured in January 2002. Khairkhwa's most prominent position was as governor of Herat province from 1999 to 2001, and he was alleged to have been "directly associated" with Osama bin Laden. According to a detainee assessment, Khairkhwa also was probably associated with al Qaeda's now-deceased leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi. He is described as one of the "major opium drug lords in western Afghanistan" and a "friend" of Karzai. He was arrested in Pakistan and was transferred to Guantanamo in May 2002. During questioning, Khairkhwa denied all knowledge of extremist activities.

Mullah Mohammad Fazl

Fazl commanded the main force fighting the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance in 2001, and served as chief of army staff under the Taliban regime. He has been accused of war crimes during Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s. Fazl was detained after surrendering to Abdul Rashid Dostam, the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community, in November 2001. He was wanted by the United Nations in connection with the massacre of thousands of Afghan Shiites during the Taliban's rule. "When asked about the murders, he did not express any regret," according to the detainee assessment. He was alleged to have been associated with several militant Islamist groups, including al Qaeda. He was transferred into U.S. custody in December 2001 and was one of the first arrivals at Guantanamo, where he was assessed as having high intelligence value.

Mullah Norullah Noori

Noori served as governor of Balkh province in the Taliban regime and played some role in coordinating the fight against the Northern Alliance. Like Fazl, Noori was detained after surrendering to Dostam, the Uzbek leader, in 2001. Noori claimed during interrogation that "he never received any weapons or military training." According to 2008 detainee assessment, Noori "continues to deny his role, importance and level of access to Taliban officials." That same assessment characterized him as high risk and of high intelligence value.

Abdul Haq Wasiq

Wasiq was the deputy chief of the Taliban regime's intelligence service. His cousin was head of the service. An administrative review in 2007 cited a source as saying that Wasiq was also "an al Qaeda intelligence member" and had links with members of another militant Islamist group, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin. Wasiq claimed, according to the review, that he was arrested while trying to help the United States locate senior Taliban figures. He denied any links to militant groups.

Mohammad Nabi Omari

Omari was a minor Taliban official in Khost Province.According to the first administrative review in 2004, he was a member of the Taliban and associated with both al Qaeda and another militant group Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin. He was the Taliban's chief of communications and helped al Qaeda members escape from Afghanistan to Pakistan. Omari acknowledged during hearings that he had worked for the Taliban but denied connections with militant groups. He also said that he had worked with a U.S. operative named Mark to try to track down Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

Pamoja na tangazo kwamba Jeshi la Marekani Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl ilitolewa baada ya karibu miaka mitano ya uhamisho alikuja habari kuwa mahabusu tano katika Guantanamo Bay walikuwa kuhamishwa kwa Qatar.

Ndege ya kubeba wafungwa kushoto Marekani Navy msingi katika Guantanamo , Cuba, baada ya kutangaza kuwa Bergdahl , ambaye alikamatwa na Taliban katika Afghanistan mwaka 2009, alikuwa kubadilishana kwa watu watano .

Uhamisho Jumamosi yalisitishwa kupitia serikali Qatar , afisa mwandamizi wa ulinzi alisema afisa huyo. Kwa mujibu wa viongozi waandamizi wa utawala, Qatar ilikubali kuchukua chini ya ulinzi wa wafungwa na kutoa uhakika wangeweza si tisho kwa United States, ikiwa ni pamoja na mwaka mmoja kupiga marufuku kutoka kusafiri nje ya Qatar.

Mbili viongozi waandamizi wa utawala wa alithibitisha majina ya tano wafungwa iliyotolewa kama Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa , Mullah Mohammad Fazl , Mullah Norullah Nori , Abdul Haq Wasiq na Mohammad Nabi Omari .

Wao walikuwa zaidi katikati ya viongozi wa ngazi za juu katika utawala wa Taliban na alikuwa kizuizini mapema katika vita katika Afghanistan, kwa sababu ya nafasi zao ndani ya Taliban, si kwa sababu ya uhusiano na al Qaeda.

CNN kuchapishwa photos kupatikana kwa WikiLeaks wanaofanana na majina iliyotolewa na Idara ya Ulinzi ya watu kubadilishana kwa Bergdahl . DoD itakuwa wala kuthibitisha wala kukataa usahihi images . Na CNN haijawahi uwezo wa kujitegemea kuthibitisha uhalali wake .

CNN profiled kwa muda wa miaka miwili iliyopita, wakati majina yao ya kwanza kuenea kama wagombea kwa ajili ya uhamisho kama sehemu ya mazungumzo na Taliban :

Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa

Khairkhwa alikuwa mwanachama mapema ya Taliban mwaka 1994 na alikuwa waziri wa mambo wakati wa utawala wa Taliban . Yeye anatoka kabila moja kama Afghanistan Rais Hamid Karzai na alikamatwa Januari 2002. Khairkhwa maarufu zaidi nafasi ilikuwa kama mkuu wa mkoa Herat 1999-2001 , na alikuwa wanaodaiwa "moja kwa moja kuhusishwa" na Osama bin Laden. Kulingana na tathmini ya detainee, Khairkhwa pia labda kuhusishwa na al Qaeda sasa - marehemu kiongozi katika Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Yeye ni kama ilivyoelezwa moja ya "kubwa mabwana kasumba ya madawa ya kulevya katika magharibi Afghanistan" na "rafiki" wa Karzai. Alikamatwa katika Pakistan na kuhamishiwa Guantanamo Mei 2002. Wakati wa kuhoji, Khairkhwa alikanusha maarifa yote ya shughuli wenye msimamo mkali.

Mullah Mohammad Fazl

Fazl akaamuru nguvu kuu kupambana na US- kuungwa mkono Kaskazini Alliance mwaka 2001 , na aliwahi kuwa mkuu wa wafanyakazi jeshi chini ya utawala wa Taliban . Amekuwa mashtaka ya uhalifu wa kivita wakati wa vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe Afghanistan katika miaka ya 1990. Fazl alikuwa kizuizini baada ya kujisalimisha kwa Abdul Rashid Dostam , kiongozi wa jamii Afghanistan ya Uzbek, Novemba 2001. Yeye alikuwa anatafutwa na Umoja wa Mataifa kuhusiana na mauaji ya maelfu ya Afghanistan Mashia wakati wa utawala wa Taliban . " Alipoulizwa kuhusu mauaji , hakuwa na kueleza majuto yoyote," kulingana na tathmini detainee. Alikuwa wanaodaiwa kuhusishwa na makundi kadhaa ya wapiganaji wa Kiislam , ikiwa ni pamoja al Qaeda. Alihamishiwa katika ulinzi wa Marekani katika Desemba 2001 na alikuwa mmoja wa waliofika kwanza katika Guantanamo, ambapo yeye alikuwa tathmini kama kuwa na thamani high akili.

Mullah Norullah Noori

Noori aliwahi kuwa mkuu wa mkoa Balkh katika utawala wa Taliban na kucheza baadhi ya jukumu katika kuratibu mapambano dhidi ya Alliance ya Kaskazini. Kama Fazl , Noori alikuwa kizuizini baada ya kujisalimisha kwa Dostam , kiongozi wa Uzbek, mwaka 2001. Noori alidai wakati wa mahojiano kwamba "yeye hajawahi kupokea silaha yoyote au mafunzo ya kijeshi. " Kwa mujibu wa 2008 detainee tathmini, Noori " inaendelea kukanusha jukumu lake , umuhimu na kiwango cha upatikanaji wa viongozi wa Taliban. " Kwamba tathmini hiyo sifa yake kama hatari na thamani ya juu akili.

Abdul Haq Wasiq

Wasiq alikuwa naibu mkuu wa utawala wa Taliban akili ya huduma. Binamu yake alikuwa mkuu wa huduma. Mapitio ya utawala mwaka 2007 alitoa chanzo akisema kuwa Wasiq pia alikuwa " al Qaeda akili wanachama" na alikuwa na viungo na wanachama wa mwingine wapiganaji wa Kiislam kundi, Hezb -e- Islami Gulbuddin . Wasiq alidai , kulingana na tathmini , kwamba alikamatwa wakati akijaribu kusaidia United States Machapisho viongozi waandamizi Taliban. Yeye akakana viungo yoyote makundi ya wapiganaji.

Mohammad Nabi Omari

Omari alikuwa madogo Taliban rasmi katika Khost Province.According wa kwanza wa utawala mapitio mwaka 2004, alikuwa mwanachama wa Taliban na kuhusishwa na wote al Qaeda na kundi jingine la wapiganaji wa Hezb -e- Islami Gulbuddin . Ambaye alikuwa mkuu wa Taliban ya mawasiliano na kusaidiwa wanachama wa al Qaeda kutoroka kutoka Afghanistan na Pakistan. Omari alikubali wakati wa kusikilizwa kuwa alifanya kazi kwa Taliban lakini alikanusha uhusiano na makundi ya wapiganaji. Pia alisema kuwa yeye alikuwa na kazi na ushirika Marekani aitwaye pia Marko kujaribu kufuatilia kiongozi wa Taliban Mullah Omar.