Australian also joined Taliban

An ex-poultry processor, 26, from the South Australian capital of Adelaide was discovered yesterday to be the second westerner fighting for the Taliban.

The Australian attorney general, Daryl Williams, revealed that David Hicks had received extensive training from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network in Afghanistan last year after fighting for the Kosovo Liberation Army 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-Qaida "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.

"He was a good person," said Wali Hanifi, president of the Islamic Council of South Australia, who met him after he converted to Islam. "He was trying to increase his knowledge of the religion. He was aiming to practice Islam to the best of his ability."

But an Adelaide man identified only as Nick who claimed to know him told Channel Ten: "I think he was more in it for the money and the excitement. He had gone though six weeks basic training, he'd been in the trenches [in Kosovo], he'd killed a few people, you know, confirmed kills, and had a few of his mates killed as well."

Mr Hicks left Australia for Pakistan in November 1999 and trained with an Islamic group fighting against India for control of Kashmir. He entered Afghanistan last year and spent several months in a training camp run by the al-Qaida terrorist network, according to Mr Williams.

If he avoids a US military tribunal, he is thought to be unlikely to face treason charges in Australia. But he could be prosecuted under anti-mercenary laws.