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White House under fire for Taliban deal

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US President Barack Obama and the Pentagon are under fire at home for holding secret talks with the Taliban militant group in Afghanistan that led to the release of an American captive soldier in exchange of five Afghan Guantanamo prisoners.

A number of top Republicans on the Senate and House Armed Services Committee on Sunday accused the Obama administration of violating the US law.

The Taliban freed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been captive for nearly five years, for the release of five Afghan prisoners.

“Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay for Berghdal’s release may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), the Senate Armed Services ranking member and House Armed Services chairman, respectively, in a joint statement.

Inhofe and McKeon said that Obama “clearly violated laws which require him to notify Congress thirty days before any transfer of terrorists from Guantanamo Bay.”

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the freed detainees were “hardened terrorists with the blood of Americans on their hands.”

He said in a statement that he was “eager to learn what precise steps are being taken to ensure that these vicious and violent Taliban extremists” do not return in fighting against the US or its allies.

A senior White House official said Saturday that the US transferred the five Afghan detainees to Qatar, a country that mediated the controversial deal.

“The five detainees transferred are in the custody and under control of Qatar and will be subject to restrictions on their movement and activities,” the senior official said.

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