Three Taliban Claim to Be Americans

K A B U L, Afghanistan, Dec. 3 -- Of all the dirty, bedraggled Taliban prisoners who surrendered after a prison riot in the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif last week, the one who called himself "Abdul Hamid" was among the most unexpected.

He is a 20-year-old American whose real name is John Walker, and he told reporters he supported the Sept. 11 attacks. He is now in U.S. custody.

There are reports today that at least three Taliban fighters in custody claim to be American. The other two are being held by the Northern Alliance, reported The Associated Press.

Walker grew up in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Silver Spring, Md., and at age 16, he said, converted to Islam. In the ensuing years he went to Yemen to study Arabic, and then to Pakistan to learn the Koran. Six months ago he joined the Taliban.

"The ideas of the Taliban occupied my mind a lot," he told reporters. "The Taliban are the only government that actually provides Islamic law."

A Chain of Unlikely Happenings

Walker said he trained and fought with the Arab-speaking Taliban fighters, who are supported and funded by Osama bin Laden.

He was among the last of the Taliban to surrender to the Northern Alliance at the besieged city of Kunduz, and joined his fellow prisoners when they rose up against their guards last week.

During the riot, he was shot in the leg, but managed to find cover in a basement, surviving attempts by the Northern Alliance to force them out.

Hundreds were killed as the Northern Alliance fired rockets into the basement and set fire to the floor above them, but somehow Walker survived.

Now, the U.S. military is most likely to decide his fate.

"He is in control of U.S. military forces. It appears he is injured or sustained some injuries and is receiving medical attention," said Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem at today's Pentagon briefing. "In terms of his disposition, that has not yet been determined."

Walker's former neighbors were utterly confused to hear what had become of him.