Obama makes 'no apologies' for Taliban hostage deal

KANDAHAR/ BRUSSELS: US President Barack Obama on Thursday said he would make absolutely "no apologies" for doing a deal with the Taliban over US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, which sparked a political storm in Washington.

"We saw an opportunity and we seized it and I make no apologies for it," Obama said at a news conference at a G7 summit in Brussels.

Obama also addressed the fierce criticism from Republicans and some Democratic allies that he did not sufficiently inform Congress over the exchange of five Taliban prisoners for Bergdahl who was kept in captivity for nearly five years.

Critics say that Obama endangered US national security by returning five key figures to the Taliban.

"I am never surprised by controversies that are whipped up in Washington. That is par for the course," Obama said.

Taliban commander says prisoner swap shows group has legitimacy

The prisoner swap that freed the last US prisoner of war in Afghanistan shows the Taliban have legitimacy as a movement capable of negotiating successful deals with the United States, a Taliban commander told Reuters on Thursday.

Five Taliban prisoners including senior members of the ousted regime were released from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in exchange for 28-year-old Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had been kidnapped by the Taliban.

"This gives the Islamic Emirates more legitimacy in front of the world. It shows we are able to deal directly with the Americans and also successfully," Maulvi Mubarak, shadow Taliban chief of the Shah Wali Kot district in Kandahar, said.

The Taliban government was overthrown by a US-led coalition in 2001 after the September 11 attacks but the insurgency still has its own shadow governors across the country.

Mubarak said the deal would also boost morale among the Taliban's ranks, including the hundreds of men under his command in three neighbouring districts.

"This will give us more courage and determination to carry on this holy task," he told Reuters.

Despite over 13 years of war and billions spent on reconstruction, the insurgency remains a powerful force and has gained ground as foreign troops have withdrawn, with most due to leave by the end of 2014.

Bergdahl was handed over to US special operations forces in Afghanistan on Saturday after five years in captivity in exchange for the transfer to Qatar of five Taliban members.