Sydney Morning Herald:
A SENIOR Taliban leader accused of killing Australian troops has been released from jail and rejoined the insurgents, just two years after the Australian army claimed his capture as a major coup.
Influential Afghan figures are believed to have pressed for the release of Mullah Bari Ghul, who was described as the Taliban's ''shadow governor'' in Oruzgan province when he was captured by Australian special forces in August 2008.
He was accused of organising roadside bombings that killed two Australians - Signaller Sean McCarthy and Trooper David Pearce - and a suicide bombing that killed 21 Afghans.
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The federal government has refused to comment on his release. It was more forthcoming when he was caught, with the army and then defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon portraying his capture as a significant blow to Taliban operations.
Yet he served just two years of an 18-year jail term and Afghan sources say he is back operating close to Australian bases.
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The directorate's deputy chief in Oruzgan, Haji Dad Maula, said he believed Bari Ghul was freed because of his connections with tribal leaders who swayed courts or even President Hamid Karzai.
''We gave his record to Kabul, we knew he committed crimes,'' Haji Maula said. ''But I think a related important network of high Afghans released him.''
He said Bari Ghul immediately returned to the insurgency and was seen in his home district around the village of Sorkh Morghab in January this year. He fled an Australian or American military operation but returned to the district early this month.
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The catch and release program is fundamentally flawed especially when ti comes to releasing known terrorist leaders. This guy should be recaptured and put somewhere that will not allow his release.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
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