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US/Afghanistan
Captured US soldier questioned in Taliban video
Article published on the 2009-07-19 Latest update 2009-07-19 11:01 TU
A video frame from the video featuring the captured US soldier
The Taliban released a video this weekend of a captive US soldier who was taken hostage in Afghanistan last month. He appears frightened and tells the camera that he is scared. When asked if he has any message to his people, he replies, “please bring us home, because America and American people have that power.”
The young soldier appears with a shaved head and beard, dressed in a traditional Afghan outfit. He sits cross-legged on the floor and is filmed answering questions and eating food.
“I am scared, I’m scared I won’t be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be prisoner,” he says.
US military officials have condemned the use of a soldier for what they call “propaganda purposes” and claim the video breaks international law.
During the video, the soldier is prompted to talk about his family, “I have my girlfriend who is hoping to marry, I have my grandma and grandpas. I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America.”
Occasionally the soldier sobs, “I miss them every day that I’m gone, I miss them, and I’m afraid that I might never see them again, and that I’ll never be able to tell them that I love them again, I’ll never be able to hug them,” he adds.
A US spokesperson has confirmed that the man was a soldier who went missing in Paktika province. Meanwhile, the soldier explains how he was captured.
“I was captured outside of the base camp. I was behind a patrol, lagging behind the patrol and I was captured.”
When asked if he has any message for his people, the soldier answers, “to my fellow Amercians who have loved ones over here, who know what it’s like to miss them, you have the power to make our government bring them home.”
“Please, please bring us home, so that we can be back where we belong. And not over here, wasting our time and our lives, and our previous life that we could be using back in our own country. Please bring us home, because America and American people have that power.”
The 28-minute video footage was sent to news agencies early on Sunday.
The soldier’s abduction is thought to be first time a member of the US forces has been captured in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001.
