A Russian captured while fighting with militants in Afghanistan, and held by the U.S. military there, will be flown to the United States to face terrorism charges, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The detainee was identified by the Washington Post as Irek Hamidullan. He was captured in 2009 and has been held at a detention facility at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan. The officials said Hamidullan would be transferred to the United States for trial on unspecified terrorism charges. It would mark the first time a foreign combatant captured in Afghanistan would be brought to the United States for trial. President Barack Obama would like some detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be brought to the United States for trial, but that option has been blocked by Congress. Hamidullan is suspected of involvement in attacks in which Americans were wounded or killed in 2009. He is believed to be among 13 foreign nationals at the Parwan detention facility at Bagram.
