Australian Taliban fighter handed over to U.S. military forces in Afghanistan

By The Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia – An Australian fighting with the Taliban and captured by northern alliance fighters has been handed over to the U.S. military, the Australian government said Monday.

The government said David Hicks, 26, trained with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network and had been fighting with the Taliban against U.S.-led forces, which include Australian troops. He was captured around Dec. 9.

Hicks had been transferred in the early hours of Monday morning to a U.S. ship in the region, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill and Attorney General Daryl Williams said in a statement.

The government was asking the United States to allow Australian officials to interview Hicks, the ministers said.

An American captured with Taliban forces, John Walker, was flown to the U.S. Navy ship Peleliu on Friday.

Hicks' capture raised a host of legal questions, the statement said.

"We can assure Australians that if Mr. Hicks has committed a crime against Australian law, the Australian government will do whatever is necessary to bring him to justice," the ministers said.

Hicks left Australia in mid-1999 to join Muslims in the Kosovo Liberation Army fighting against Serbia in Yugoslavia.

After converting to Islam, he flew to Pakistan in late 1999, where he trained with the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group. He entered Afghanistan last year and trained with al-Qaida, the government said.

Legal experts are pondering whether Hicks has actually broken any Australian laws, but believe he could be charged under a law aimed at discouraging soldiers of fortune.

Under the Foreign Incursions law, Australian citizens face prison sentences of up to 14 years for working as mercenaries.

AP-WS-12-17-01 0520EST