Taliban Declare Victory

• Five senior Taliban members are to be handed over to Qatar as part of deal
• Obama criticised for sidestepping law that requires him to alert Congress to release of terror suspects
• One detainee is accused of presiding over a mass killing
• Qatar has agreed to to host the detainees for at least one year

The Taliban have declared 'victory' and Barack Obama has been accused of endangering Western lives by exchanging five ‘hardened terrorists’ for the last American prisoner-of-war in Afghanistan.

Obama's decision to free five top Taliban figures - including a friend of Osama Bin Laden, an opium drug lord and a warlord responsible for hundreds of deaths - in return for sergeant Bowe Bergdahl has already attracted fierce criticism from opponents.

But a gloating victory message issued by the fugitive Taliban leader today is sure to ramp up the pressure on the president.

Omar said: 'I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Muslim nation, all the mujahideen and to the families and relatives of the prisoners for this big victory.'

Bergdahl, who was held for almost five years by Islamic militants, was freed on Saturday after the US agreed to free the five most important Taliban prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

A shroud of mystery has hung over the soldier’s disappearance from a remote outpost amid speculation he might have deserted. Sgt Bergdahl had told his parents he was disillusioned with the campaign in Afghanistan and did not like his fellow soldiers.

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