A leaked Joint Task Force – Guantanamo threat assessment describes Haji Hamidullah, who was recently transferred from Guantanamo to the UAE, as an “agent” of Iran. The Long War Journal first profiled Hamidullah in 2011. The leaked JTF-GTMO file contains numerous intelligence reports tying Iranian intelligence to the Afghan insurgency.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of a Hezb-i-Islami faction, has toyed with the Afghan government in the past and withdrew from peace talks under similar circumstances.
Earlier this month, a DC district judge ruled that a facilitator for the HIG is properly detained at Guantanamo. The detainee, Shawali Khan, allegedly plotted attacks against American forces on behalf of his uncle, a HIG commander based in Quetta, Pakistan.
The US has released Abdul Hafiz, who was implicated in the kidnapping and murder of Ricardo Munguía in 2003. Hafiz reportedly “practiced and preached a very extreme interpretation of Islam on the blocks” at Gitmo.
The testimony of a Guantanamo detainee confirms that cooperation between Iran and the Taliban began prior to the September 11 attacks. The one-time enemies came together to fight their common foe: America.