evidence: A US soldier captured by the Taliban for five years has pleaded guilty at a military court in North Carolina to desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy. [...] The US believes he was across the frontier in Pakistan for most of his captivity, reportedly held by the Haqqani network, which operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and is allied to the Afghan Taliban. [...] Taliban officials say the soldier was handed over near Khost, close to the the Afghan-Pakistan border, on the evening of 31 May. A several-dozen strong US special forces team flew in by helicopter and briefly met some 18 Taliban on the ground.