German charged over alleged combat role in Afghan Taliban

BERLIN – Prosecutors have charged a German citizen who allegedly fought for the Taliban in Afghanistan, accusing him of membership in a terrorist organization, attempted murder and weapons offences.

Federal prosecutors said Friday the indictment against 37-year-old Thomas K., whose full name was withheld because of German privacy rules, was filed at a Duesseldorf court.

Prosecutors say he joined the Taliban in Pakistan’s Afghan border region in 2013 and was deployed to a unit responsible for suicide attacks. They say that, as well as preparing explosives and preparing for a suicide attack, he worked on a propaganda video aimed at German radicals. He also allegedly had himself filmed participating in a failed mortar attack on an Afghan army base.

He was arrested by Afghan authorities in February and sent back to Germany.