Freelance vigilante fooled Nato soldiers into helping him

By NICK MEO

KABUL - A freelance counter-terrorism vigilante caught running a private torture chamber in Kabul fooled Nato soldiers into joining illegal raids with him three times, the military organisation admitted on Wednesday.

Retired US Special Forces soldier Jonathan K Idema called out bomb disposal squads to buildings where he seized Afghans who were later found hanging upside down from the ceiling of his secret prison.

A spokesman for Nato-led peacekeeping force ISAF said yesterday that Idema, who was wearing a US uniform, had been 'very credible'.

ISAF headquarters eventually realised that the US military taskforce Idema and two other foreigners said they belonged to did not in fact exist.

Commander Chris Henderson said: "ISAF personnel believed he was what he purported to be - Special Operations.

"They were operating in military style, with US flags on their shoulders, and representing themselves in such a way that ISAF believed them to be who they said they were."

Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan wear a mix of civilian and military clothing and adopt a buccaneering style unlike regular soldiers, making it hard to tell them from Western freelance security men.

Deepening the mystery, Commander Henderson added that explosive traces and suspicious electrical components had been found at two of the locations Idema called ISAF to.

He refused to say whether the Afghans detained could have been making bombs.

It is still unclear what has happened to five of the eight men, who were bearded in the style of Islamic fundamentalists, or who they really were.

Commander Henderson said that ISAF is not investigating them further and the matter is now one for the Afghan intelligence service, which has detained Idema.

Many in Kabul had believed the ex-Green Beret to be a fantasist after his arrest in the capital by Afghan security forces following a shoot-out last week.

Outlandish claims have been made about him, such as that he foiled a plot to assassinate President Hamid Karzai.

However, yesterday's revelation by ISAF raised speculation that he may really have been on to terrorists before his arrest, when he was denounced as a 'rebel' by an Afghan police chief.

Reports say Idema has spent three years in prison in the United States for fraud and is suing George Clooney for $130 million for the film The Peacemaker, claiming the Hollywood star's role is modelled on one of his exploits.

He arrived in Afghanistan in winter 2001 claiming to be a freelance adviser to the Northern Alliance on a quest for vengeance for the September 11 terror attacks.

Since then he has been known in Kabul as "Jack" and has carved out a place as one of the city's more flamboyant characters.

It is believed he may have been a bounty hunter on Osama bin Laden's trail, seeking the $25 million reward.

ISAF also refused to comment on claims circulating that one of the foreign men arrested with Idema was an American TV producer who has worked for US networks.

- INDEPENDENT