A former Soviet army officer has been convicted by a US jury of planning and leading a Taliban attack on American forces in Afghanistan in 2009.

The jury found Irek Hamidullin guilty on 15 counts, including supporting terrorists and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

The 55-year-old is the first military prisoner from Afghanistan to be tried in a US federal court.

Some of the charges carry a mandatory life sentence.

About 30 insurgents died in the attack, with Hamidullin the only survivor, while no American or Afghan soldiers were killed.