Sydney - A former chicken processor from the South Australian capital of Adelaide was discovered yesterday to be the second westerner fighting for the Taliban.
The Australian Attorney General, Mr Daryl Williams, revealed that Mr David Hicks (26) had received extensive training from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan last year after fighting for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in 1999.
He was captured by the Northern Alliance near Tora Bora four days ago and was said to be in good health. His father, who lives in Adelaide, called his son's involvement in al-Qaeda "terrible".
Mr Hicks, who once worked in a chicken factory, was remembered both as a kind, devout Muslim and as a thrill-seeking mercenary. He had no criminal record and converted to Islam after travelling to Europe to join ethnic Albanian Muslims fighting for the KLA.