Hagel praises soldier release team

                             

                            
                           A video grab image from 2010 showed Sgt Bergdahl in captivity


US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has praised US forces in Afghanistan over the release of a US soldier held for nearly five years by the Taliban. Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed to US special forces in south-eastern Afghanistan as part of a prisoner swap.

Mr Hagel met some of those involved at Bagram airbase north of Kabul during a previously unannounced visit. In return, five senior Afghan detainees have been released from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

The Pentagon has been criticised for not giving Congress the required 30-day notification before releasing the detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

But Mr Hagel, who has reportedly met some of the special forces team involved in the operation - said the military believed the soldier was in danger, and had to act quickly "essentially to save his life".

"No shots were fired," said Mr Hagel of the prisoner hand-over. "It went as well as it could have." While hopeful the prisoner exchange could lead to a breakthrough in negotiations with the Taliban, Mr Hagel said getting Sgt Bergdahl back had been the priority.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was informed of the prisoner-swap "after the fact", he added.

'Never forgotten'
The US president, who was joined at the White House by Sgt Bergdahl's parents, Robert and Jani, said ''he was never forgotten''
Sgt Bergdahl, who is said to be in good condition, was the only US soldier being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"While Sgt Bergdahl was gone he was never forgotten," said President Barack Obama during a White House lawn press conference with the soldier's parents on Saturday.

Robert and Jani Bergdahl said they were "joyful and relieved" to hear of their son's release, adding that he was having trouble speaking English due to his long captivity.

Mr Obama says he has security guarantees from Qatar - which mediated the deal and where the five Afghan men have been flown - "that it will put in place measures to protect our national security".

Under the deal, they will be banned from leaving Qatar for at least a year.