">Forum Views ()
">Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
AP sources: Taliban video shows captive US soldier
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
Yahoo! Search
Search:
Sign InNew User? Sign Up
News Home -
Help
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Search
Search:
AP sources: Taliban video shows captive US soldier
By PAMELA HESS and LOLITA BALDOR,Associated Press Writers AP - Sunday, July 19
WASHINGTON - The American soldier who went missing June 30 from his base in eastern Afghanistan and was later confirmed to have been captured, appeared on a video posted Saturday to a Web site by the Taliban.
Two U.S. defense officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in the video is the captured soldier. The video provides the first glimpse the public has had of the missing soldier.
The soldier is shown in the 28-minute video with his head shaved and the start of a beard. He is sitting and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit. Early in the video one of his captors holds the soldier's dog tag up to the camera. His name and ID number are clearly visible. He is shown eating at one point and sitting cross-legged.
The soldier, whose identity has not yet been released by the Pentagon pending notification of members of Congress and the soldier's family, says his name, age and hometown on the video, which was released Saturday on a Web site pointed out by the Taliban.
The soldier said the date is July 14. He says he was captured when he lagged behind on a patrol.
He is interviewed in English by his captors, and he is asked his views on the war, which he calls extremely hard, his desire to learn more about Islam and the morale of American soldiers, which he said was low.
Asked how he was doing, the soldier said on the video:
"Well I'm scared, scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner."
He begins to answer questions in a matter-of-fact and sober voice, occasionally facing the camera, looking down and sometimes looking to the questioner on his left.
He later chokes up when discussing his family and his hope to marry his girlfriend.
"I have my girlfriend, who is hoping to marry," he said. "I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America. And I miss them every day when I'm gone. I miss them and I'm afraid that I might not ever see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again and I'll never be able to hug them."
He is also prompted by his interrogators to give a message to the American people.
"To my fellow Americans 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," he said. "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 precious life that we could be using back in our own country. Please bring us home. It is America and American people who have that power."
The video is not a continuous recording _ it appears to stop and start during the questioning.
It is unclear from the video whether the July 14 date is authentic. The soldier says that he heard that a Chinook helicopter carrying 37 NATO troops had been shot down over Helmand. A helicopter was shot down in southern Afghanistan on July 14, but it was carrying civilians on a reported humanitarian mission for NATO forces. All six Ukrainian passengers died in the crash, and a child on the ground was killed.
On July 2, the U.S. military said an American soldier had disappeared after walking off his base in eastern Afghanistan with three Afghan counterparts and was believed to have been taken prisoner. A U.S. defense official said the soldier was noticed missing during a routine check of the unit on June 30 and was first listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown."
Details of such incidents are routinely held very tightly by the military as it works to retrieve a missing or captured soldier without giving away any information to captors.
But Afghan Police Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said the soldier went missing in eastern Paktika province near the border with Pakistan from an American base. The region is known to be Taliban-infested.
The most important insurgent group operating in that area is known as Haqqani network and is led by warlord Siraj Haqqani, whom the U.S. has accused of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings including the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed some 60 people. The Haqqani group also was linked to an assassination attempt on Afghan president Hamid Karzai early last year.
On Saturday, a U.S. military official in Kabul, Col. Greg Julian, said the U.S. was "still doing everything we can to return him safely."
Julian said U.S. troops had distributed two flyers in the area where the soldier disappeared. One of them asked for information on the missing soldier and offered a $25,000 reward for his return. The other said "please return our soldier safely" or "we will hunt you," according to Julian.
___
Associated Press writers Robert H. Reid in Kabul and Christine Simmons in Washington contributed to this report.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Sign in to recommend this article »
0 users recommend
Related Articles: War On Terror
AP sources: Taliban video shows captive US soldierAP - Sunday, July 19
Ruling: Court failed its duty to Muslim scholarAP - Saturday, July 18
French hostages given to al Qaeda-linked Somali groupReuters - Saturday, July 18
Terror stalks Indonesia as hotel bombs kill nineAFP - Saturday, July 18
Related Articles: World
AP sources: Taliban video shows captive US soldierAP - Sunday, July 19
Honduran talks snag on proposal for unity govtAP - Sunday, July 19
1st female shuttle pilot lands in Aviation HallAP - Sunday, July 19
LA police: Mother kills 4-year-old son then selfAP - Sunday, July 19
Colombian rebels say no to Uribe's hostage planReuters - Sunday, July 19
Related Full Coverage
War On Terror
Global fight against terrorism
All Full Coverage
Most Popular – World
Viewed
World's oldest man, British WWI veteran dies at 113
Talking toy 'translates' dog barks
Miniskirts, cleavage upset male SKoreans: survey
Citi posts $4.3 bln profit on one-time gain
Coroners seek records from Jackson skin doctor
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Community
- Intellectual Property Rights Policy
- Help
Other News on Sunday, 19 July 2009 Iraq faces security test as Shiites honour saint
Three missing after landslide in Germany
Mexican troops fan out across state hit by drug war
| International
|
Iraqi army weathers first security test
| International
|
Ecuador's Correa says FARC video is a set up
| International
|
Police shot 12 Uighur rioters, China says
Britis quarantined in China over swine flu
US envoy calls for two-track approach on N.Korea
Officials: 4 foreigners killed in Jakarta blasts
Jackie Chan praises kung fu of Will Smith's son
Pirated copies of Orwell books pulled from Kindle
Colleagues, friends react to Cronkite's death
Saudi film festival cancelled in setback for reformers
| Entertainment
|
US offensive reflects uneasy run-up to Afghan vote
Man who went to the moon and came back an artist
Porsche boss braces for boardroom clash
Investigators sift for clues from Indonesia bombs
| International
|
Amazon sends Orwell to 'memory hole'
Shark attack victims fight for their attackers
UAE telecom giant posts H1 profit of $1.25 billion
Honduras crisis talks divided over Zelaya return
| International
|
Saudi Sabic swings back to profit in Q2
Hard-liners accuse top Iranian cleric of defiance
Ireland's Greens boost EU reform treaty
Medvedev hosts Armenia, Azerbaijan peace talks
Key security test for Iraq as pilgrims commemorate saint
Clinton meets Mumbai victims, serenaded by artisans
| International
|
China arrests 7 in gun plot against HK democrat: report
| International
|
Palestinian Authority lifts ban on Al Jazeera
Xinjiang riots pre-planned at 50 places: state media
| International
|
Colombian rebels say no to Uribe's hostage plan
| International
|
Iraqi army weathers first security test
Afghanistan-Pakistan together in war on terror: ministers
One killed in tent collapse at Slovak music festival
| International
|
U.N. Sudan chief raises alarm over oil area troops
Endeavour astronauts complete first space walk
Jakarta bombings loom over Asian security meeting
China says police killed 12 people in Urumqi riot
AP sources: Taliban video shows captive US soldier
NZ quits search for 18 missing from Kiribati ferry
1st female shuttle pilot lands in Aviation Hall
Australian soldier killed in Afghan blast
LA police: Mother kills 4-year-old son then self
British students in Chinese swine flu quarantine
Obama: Now is time to change health care
Jemaah Islamiyah blamed for Jakarta blasts
Thongchai on course for Open top ten
Afghan gov't orders HamidKarzai.com shut down
Spacewalk Day: Astronauts install new porch on lab
Chinese pair retain men's 3m synchro world title
Circus tortoise found after escape from Wis. show
Dialogue only way forward for Pakistan, India: Gilani
7 young Pa. lemonade sellers have brush with law
Man charged after 6 found slain in Tenn., Ala.
'Wonderful Life' actor Stewart makes Aviation Hall
Lucas, Spielberg richest of Hollywood rich men
Battle to save Toyota's unionized California plant
S. Korea June start-up/failure ratio at record high
Hungarians' love affair with their jeans cooling
Toshiba launches Blu-ray after DVD setback: report
'Vassup?' Bruno courts cinema controversy
Two decades after 'Achtung Baby', U2 rocks Berlin
Investigators sift for clues from Indonesia bombs
Cronkite to be buried in Mo. after NYC funeral
Obama offers support to Indonesia's president
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
404 Not Found
Royal Ballet dancer retiring as Cuba visit ends
Prince a crowd-pleaser as Montreux festival ends
50 Cent slashes price on Conn. mansion to $10.9M
Indonesia suspects fugitive terrorist in bombings
Parents face fine if children drink in Italian city
Saudi film festival cancelled in setback for reformers
ASEAN ministers condemn bombings in Jakarta
One killed in tent collapse at Slovak music festival
| Entertainment
|
Man Sues Apple, FBI, Others For Conspiring Against Him With Mafia
Striking French Workers Get Severance Pay After Threatening To Blow Up Cranes
Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe's Mom Does His Laundry
NASA Orbiter Captures Photos Of Apollo Landers On 40th Anniversary
404 Not Foun
Brad Pitt Admits He's A Butt Man
California Teen Youngest To Sail Around The World Alone
Singer Pink Attacked By Frog
Newest Element Named After Astronomer Copernicus
Thieves Steal Half Million Dollars In Jewelry From Orlando Bloom's Hollywood Home
At least 16 killed in Afghan helicopter crash
One killed in Ingushetia attack: report
Turkey extends smoking ban to bars, cafes
Israel says foreign jihadists are in Gaza
Civilian helicopter crash in Afghanistan kills 16
| International
|
Netanyahu defies U.S. on East Jerusalem settlement
| International
|
Iran hardliners oppose Ahmadinejad's choice of VP
US must show Afghan progress in a year: Gates
Iran hardliners criticize Ahmadinejad over deputy
| International
|
Baghdad's antique shops tell city's sad story
404 Not Found
Kurds in troubled Iraqi province threaten to secede
| International
|
Minister denies al Qaeda figures move to Yemen
| International
|
404 Not Found
Probe begins in Calif. rail crash that hurt dozens
Sea lion found on Calif. freeway returns to ocean
6 people killed in 2-vehicle collision in Utah
Calif deputies' shooting suspect caught in Mexico
Cheating SC gov says God will make him better
Banks report using govt. assistance for loans
Essay: Cronkite and the voice of authority gone
Man Accused Of Murdering Wife On Cruise Ship
Madoff's Accountant Charged, Faces 105 Years In Prison
Two Baltimore Police Officers, Suspect Shot
Insurgents Release Tape Of Captured U.S. Soldier
More Than 40 Injured In San Francisco Light Rail Crash
Insecurity fuels property boom in Nepal's capital
U.S. Jet Crashes In Afghanistan, 2 Die
Indonesia bombs jolt expats, investors
Study: African Americans Lose Ground On Fortune 500 Boards
Carla Bruni, others perform at NYC Mandela concert
Violinist Perlman inspiring the next generation
Palestinians forced to seek work in Israel
'Wonderful Life' actor Stewart makes Aviation Hall
Harry Potter tops North American box office
| Entertainment
|
Prince fans storm Montreux for rare European show
| Entertainment
|
Legendary TV news anchor Walter Cronkite dies
| Entertainment
|
Film shows students battle racism for mixed prom
| Entertainment
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights