US soldier Bowe Bergdahl held by Taliban faces court-martial

US army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who walked away from his post in Afghanistan and became a prisoner of the Taliban for five years, will face court-martial on charges of desertion and endangering US troops, army officials said yesterday.

Bergdahl, 29, was charged earlier this year and faces up to life in prison if convicted of the more serious offence of endangering troops who searched for him in lawless areas of Afghanistan after his disappearance in 2009.

The date of the hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will be announced later, the US Army Forces Command said in a statement.