Washington - A US soldier who was held as a prisoner of war by the Taliban for five years before being freed in a high-profile prisoner swap is to be charged with desertion, NBC News reported on Tuesday.
Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was captured in June 2009 after allegedly leaving his base to avoid hazardous duty or important service, military officials told the US broadcaster.
He was released by the Taliban in May, in a move shrouded in controversy due to the decision to trade his freedom for five Taliban detainees who had been held at the US-operated Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.