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- IAN MCPHEDRAN AND PATRICK LION
- NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA NETWORK
- OCTOBER 02, 2013 8:00PM
ELITE Australian spies employed by the government's most obscure intelligence agency provided the breakthrough that led to the capture of fugitive Afghan soldier Sergeant Hekmatullah.
The rogue soldier and suspected Taliban sleeper will be charged with three counts of murder and will possibly face the death penalty for the shooting of Lance Corporal Stjepan 'Rick' Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate during an insider attack at Patrol Base Wahab in Afghanistan in August last year.
THE MOMENT: How the ADF broke the news
So secret was his capture in February by Pakistan's notorious Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) that the families of the dead Australian soldiers were only notified yesterday.
Announcing the development in Canberra yesterday, Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley, said the arrest "draws a line'' under the four "green on blue" insider attacks on Australia personnel, which have killed seven diggers and wounded 10.
General Hurley took the unusual step of revealing the involvement of Australia's most secretive intelligence bodies, including the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO), the overseas spy agency Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), Defence Intelligence Organisation and electronic spies at the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
Deceased: Private Robert Poate.
Insiders revealed it was the ability of boffins inside AGO to correctly analyse imagery collected by satellites and unmanned aircraft, electronic data from the Signals Directorate and human intelligence collected by ASIS spies operating along the Pakistan border and special-forces troops, that finally tracked the killer down.
AGO officials, including geospatial intelligence analysts, scientists and technologists, operate with top-secret clearances under a veil of secrecy inside maximum security premises at Defence headquarters in Canberra and Bendigo in Victoria.
Australian spies and special-forces operatives have been working closely with other agencies including the US National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), US special-forces units, Britain's MI6 and the British SAS to track down the murderer.
It is understood mobile phone intercept and voice recognition technology, facial recognition technology, human intelligence, drones and satellites were employed in the hunt.
AGO uses information from all the sources to establish a "geolocation''.
Confirming Hekmatullah's whereabouts enabled Pakistan's ISI agency to move in and arrest him.
The ISI had first dibs on his interrogation and that, as well as the need for positive identification and arrangements to extradite him to Afghanistan, caused the six-month delay in announcing his capture.
It is understood Hekmatullah is locked up at the maximum security Afghan run prison at Bagram air base north of Kabul, built by the US to house high level al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners.
The news of his capture was greeted with joy by Private Poate's father Hugh, of Canberra.
Mr Poate said he wants the murderer treated the same way as he treated his son and his two mates - without mercy.
Deceased: Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic. Picture: ADF
He described the feeling when he heard that Hekmatullah had been apprehended in Pakistan in February and repatriated to Afghanistan on Tuesday as "wonderful".
"Before Robbie left to go to Afghanistan I asked him about the insider attacks and the word he used was 'retribution' and retribution is being dealt out here," Mr Poate said.
He said the news was another step forward in the recovery process for the families of the three soldiers, who were shot dead as they played cards at a Patrol Base called Wahab in the Baluchi Valley 23km from Tarin Kowt on August 29, 2012.
"It won't bring the boys back but it is a great help to us," Mr Poate said.
Seven Australians have been killed by "green on blue" insider attacks since May 2011 and all the killers have now been killed or captured.
General Hurley also confirmed that under Afghanistan law Hekmatullah would probably face the death penalty.
"Those responsible for the deaths of seven Australian soldiers and who wounded another 10 have been captured or killed and no longer pose a threat to our people," he said.
Mr Poate said the families had talked about the fact that Hekmatullah was still at large at a function last weekend.
"The timing is very good. They've got him and that's really, really good."
Deceased: Sapper James Martin.
HOW THE HUNT HAPPENED
The hunt for the murderous Afghan Sergeant Hekmatullah began as soon as he fled through the gate of an isolated patrol base within minutes of his deadly shooting spree that left three diggers dead and two wounded.
After he emptied the 23 rounds from the magazine of an M-16 assault rifle into a group of a dozen Australian soldiers playing cards and watching movies at about 9.45pm on August 29 last year, he ran from the base and according to several witnesses was picked up by a waiting motorcycle.
Australian rapid reaction special-forces troops arrived at Patrol Base Wahab within an hour of the shooting and the hunt for the killer began in earnest.
Just two days later and acting on reliable information, 60 Australian soldiers raided the village of Sula near Tarin Kowt where he had been holed up. They killed two insurgents and captured a third.
There was no sign of Hekmatullah, who had last been seen dressed in white with his head covered.
A week later a $5000 reward was posted for his capture (dead or alive) and 10,000 wanted posters were distributed across Oruzgan Province.
The Hekmatullah wanted posters
Despite a massive manhunt involving coalition troops, unmanned drones, helicopters, satellites and intelligence agencies from several countries, he had escaped to Pakistan under the wing of Taliban minders.
By October last year he was safely in the bosom of his Taliban masters in the wild border area and was being hailed a hero of the movement.
Australian officers had vowed to continue the hunt, but given the years it took for the might of the US to track down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, little hope was held for the capture of this peasant murderer.
Early this year Australian agents operating along the Pakistan border had got wind of his whereabouts and the collective power of Australian spy agencies, including the SAS, Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), Defence Intelligence Organisation, Australian Signals Directorate and most importantly the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO) had been focused on a small village across the border from Jalalabad in Afghanistan.
With rare cooperation from Pakistan's feared ISI and assistance from the US National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), British MI6 and SAS and several other shadowy agencies including the "black op" US special-forces Delta Force, the coalition finally had a bead on Hekmatullah's head.
The most delicate part of the massive operation now commenced as the ISI took the lead on arresting, detaining and interrogating the triple murderer.
In early February the trap was sprung and a man closely resembling Sergeant Hekmatullah was arrested.
"Getting a positive ID took some time," a government source said.
Things move slowly in Pakistan and the ISI could not be rushed for fear that they would refuse to hand over the killer.
Finally this week agreement was reached and the prisoner was transferred to Afghanistan, probably to Bagram air base near Kabul, overnight on Tuesday.
He will now stand trial for three murders and face the death penalty under Afghan law.
Justice will be served and another sad chapter will close for three devastated Australian families.
How super-spies tracked down rogue Afghan Sergeant Hekmatullah
