Who is Alhaji Najibullah? Former Taliban commander sentenced to 42 years in prison for killing US soldiers, kidnapping journalists

A former Taliban commander has been sentenced to 42 years in prison for supporting attacks that killed three U.S. soldiers and kidnapping Pulitzer Prize winner David Lord and two others in Afghanistan.The sentence was handed down in Manhattan on Tuesday. This concludes a case involving terrorism, hostage-taking and the deaths of U.S. troops during the war in Afghanistan.Haji Najibullah, 50, pleaded guilty in April 2025 to providing material support for an act of terrorism and conspiring to take hostages. Between 2007 and 2009, he provided weapons and other support to the Taliban, knowing they would be used to attack U.S. forces.The case took an emotional turn during the sentencing hearing, when David Rohde, a national security correspondent for MSNBC and formerly of The New York Times, spoke in the courtroom just feet from Najibullah.Lord recalled how he was lured to Afghanistan in 2008 to interview a Taliban commander, only to be kidnapped along with another journalist and a driver. The three men were held captive for more than seven months before escaping from a Taliban-controlled compound in Pakistan’s tribal areas.He told the court he was “surprised and disappointed” by Najibullah’s attempts to shift responsibility for the kidnapping. Lord said it was Najibullah’s lies that ensnared him.“Hostage-taking is a cruel and cowardly crime. Families spend weeks and even months thinking they have the power to save the lives of their loved ones,” Lord said, adding that this was “an illusion” because families rarely have enough money to meet ransom demands.Lord said his own suffering was not as severe as the three American soldiers killed in Taliban operations linked to Najibullah’s group. He became emotional as he named the soldiers and spoke of the impact of their deaths.Najibullah apologized to Lord and his family through a translator, saying “what happened to him was horrific and I deeply regret my role in it.”U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla said she chose not to impose the life sentence recommended by federal guidelines. She cited Najibullah’s guilty plea, which spared his victims a trial, and the poor prison conditions he endured for six years, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.However, she also rejected a lighter sentence. Najibullah’s lawyer had sought an 18-year sentence, arguing that his client acted in wartime to defend his homeland.“I don’t think he needs to pull the trigger, decapitate the bodies, take responsibility for what happened,” Faila said, referring to the deadly attack by fighters under his command.Lord said agreeing to be interviewed about his kidnapping was the “biggest mistake of my life” and said he would never have done so if he had known Najibullah was linked to attacks that killed American soldiers.The journalist also denied his kidnappers’ claims that he was a spy.He told the court he was a “journalist” dedicated to understanding the views and lives of Taliban commanders. Lord also said he remains “a journalist and I’m incredibly proud to be a member of this profession.”