Taliban release video of captured US soldier
- 14 years ago
The Taliban have released a video that purports to show an American soldier captured in Afghanistan last June.
In the film, the man, who identifies himself as Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl, says he wants to return to his family in Idaho and that the war in Afghanistan is not worth the number of lives that have been lost or wasted in prison.
It is the first time he has been seen since the Taliban released a video of him on Christmas Day. Pentagon officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The seven-minute video shows him sporting a beard and doing a few push-ups to demonstrate he is in good physical condition.
Bergdahl disappeared June 30 while based in eastern Afghanistan and is the only known American serviceman in captivity.
He was serving at a base in Paktika province near the border with Pakistan in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold, when he vanished just five months after arriving in Afghanistan.
The Taliban claimed his capture in a video released in mid-July that showed the young soldier appearing downcast and frightened.
At the end of the video, a speaker, reportedly Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, demands the release of a limited number of prisoners in exchange for the American.