( CNN ) -- An alleged commander for the Taliban and affiliated Haqqani network appeared in a U.S. court Tuesday to face a host of charges -- from supporting terrorism to attempted murder of an American citizen -- tied to a 2009 attack in Afghanistan . Irek Ilgiz Hamidullin was in a federal court in Alexandria , Virginia , just outside of Washington , on Tuesday , less than a month after his indictment and on the same day that the charging document against him was released . His arraignment is scheduled for Friday , according to the Department of Justice . According to the indictment , Hamidullin is a Russian citizen who once served in that nation 's military as an officer and tank commander . He has been a follower of Mullah Omar , the head of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan , since 2001 . By 2009 , the document alleges , Hamidullin was fighting for the Taliban and the Haqqani network , an organization the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist network . He allegedly coordinated an attack on Camp Leyza , an Afghan Border Police compound in eastern Afghanistan 's Khost province , in November of that year . Directing a large arsenal of weapons -- including machine guns , grenades , a portable rocket , an anti-aircraft gun and a recoilless rifle , the latter two of which were aimed to fire upon U.S. military aircraft should they arrive on site -- Hamidullin led the attack and then personally fired on U.S. and Afghan forces with a machine gun , the indictment states . The document did not state the result of the attack , but said `` a large number of insurgents were killed . '' The Justice Department stated that the U.S. military took Hamidullin into custody then . The Russian citizen , now about 55 years old , was turned over to the FBI on Monday . Charges he faces include conspiring to provide and providing material support for terrorists , conspiring and attempting to destroy a U.S. aircraft , as well as conspiring and attempting to kill a U.S. government employee -- in this case , members of the U.S. military . Under federal law , a person does n't have to have committed a crime in the United States for charges to be filed against them in U.S. courts . That 's because laws for things like supporting terrorists or trying to kill U.S. citizens or employees apply outside of American soil . In fact , many people have been brought back to the United States to be tried for attacks committed overseas . Still , it 's rare for such charges to come out of the ongoing hostilities in Afghanistan . `` This is very unusual , '' said Yale Law School Professor Eugene Fidell . CNN 's Evan Perez contributed to this report .
A federal grand jury indicted Irek Ilgiz Hamidullin for 2009 attack on an Afghan base . Hamidullin is a Russian citizen who allegedly fought for the Taliban and Haqqani network . He faces 12 charges , including terror support and attempted murder of a U.S. citizen . `` This is very unusual , '' a legal expert says of the case .