members of Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 595 landed to join forces with Dostum and Team Alpha. Dostum, the Tajik commander Atta Muhammad Nur and their American allies defeated Taliban forces and recaptured Mazar-i-Sharif on 10 November 2001. On 24 November 2001, 15,000 Taliban soldiers were due to surrender after the Siege of Kunduz to American and Northern Alliance forces. Instead, 400 Al-Qaeda prisoners arrived just outside Mazar-i-Sharif. After they surrendered to Dostum, they were transferred to the 19th century garrison fortress, Qala-i-Jangi. The next day, while being questioned by CIA officers Spann and David Tyson, they used concealed weapons to revolt, triggering what became the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi against the guards. The uprising was finally brought under control after six days. Dasht-i-Leili massacre Dostum has been accused by Western journalists of responsibility for the suffocating or otherwise killing of Taliban prisoners in December 2001, with the number of victims estimated as 2,000. In 2009, Dostum denied the accusations and US President Obama ordered an investigation into the massacre. Karzai administration In the aftermath of Taliban's removal from northern Afghanistan, forces loyal to Dostum frequently clashed with Tajik forces loyal to Atta Muhammad Nur. Atta's men kidnapped and killed a number of Dostum's men, and constantly agitated to gain control of Mazar-e-Sharif. Through the political mediations of the Karzai administration, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the United Nations, the Dostum-Atta feud has gradually declined. They are now aligned in a new political party Dostum served as deputy defense minister the early period of the Karzai administration. On 20 May 2003, Dostum narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. He was often residing outside Afghanistan, mainly in Turkey. In February 2008, he was suspended after the apparent kidnapping and torture of a political rival. Time in Turkey Some media reports in 2008 stated earlier that Dostum was "seeking political asylum" in Turkey while others said he was exiled. One Turkish media outlet said Dostum was visiting after flying there with then Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan during a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). On 16 August 2009, Dostum was asked to return from exile to Afghanistan to support President Hamid Karzai in his bid for re-election. He later flew by helicopter to his northern stronghold of Sheberghan, where he was greeted by thousands of his supporters in the local stadium. He subsequently made overtures to the