6/4/2014
'Victory': Everyone is clearly jubilant that the prisoners are free and have been released into the custody of Qatar
SOURCE
- Video shows Bergdahl clean shaven in white pickup truck before handover
- Armed gunman can be seen outside the truck and on the surrounding hills
- As a Black Hawk helicopter lands he is led by two men towards rescuers
- Video also shows footage of five detainees arriving in Qatar following release
- Fellow soldiers have claimed Bergdahl deserted his post in 2009
- Top military officer has said Army might still investigate Bergdahl, the results of which could lead to desertion or other charges
The Taliban have released a video which shows the moment U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to American troops in eastern Afghanistan.
The video shows Bergdahl clean shaven, with a shaved head and dressed in a white salwar kameez waiting in a white pick-up truck as Taliban militants stand outside.
Armed gunmen can also be seen standing on the hills around the valley as Black Hawk helicopters draw closer to the meeting point.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
The Taliban have released a video which shows the handover of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl to the American military close to the Afghan border. At the beginning of the footage Bergdahl can be seen in the back of a white pickup truck
As two Black Hawk helicopters draw closer Bergdahl can be seen standing outside of the truck, surrounded by armed men
One of the men carries a white flag as the Black Hawk helicopter draws nearer
As one of the helicopters lands, Bergdahl is led to his rescuers by two men, one leading him by the hand and another waving a white cloth crudely tied to a wooden stick
The Taliban reporter speaking over the clip says: 'We told them there are 18 armed fighters and the Americans said that's alright,' the male voice said.
As one of the helicopters lands, Bergdahl is led to his rescuers by two men, one leading him by the hand and another waving a white cloth crudely tied to a wooden stick.
Most of the Taliban have their faces covered with scarves, while Bergdahl wears his over his shoulders.
They are greeted by three men who shake their hands and lead Bergdahl by the arm to the helicopter. The aircraft takes off and the message in English flashes up: 'Don' come back to Afghanistan' [sic].
The video's authenticity could not be independently verified.
Five years after he was captured by Afghan militants, Bergdahl was freed at the weekend in exchange for five militants held at Guantanamo Bay.
Bergdahl is led into the helicopter which then takes off and flies away
Armed gunmen can also be seen standing on the hills around the valley as Black Hawk helicopters draw closer to the meeting point
The 28-year-old is now in a military hospital in Germany, undergoing physical and mental assessments.
The five militants were put in the custody of the tiny Gulf emirate of Qatar, where they are to remain for a year. The video also showed their arrival in Qatar, where they are greeted with warm embraces, while a Taliban victory song is played in the background.
The initial euphoria over his release has been clouded by claims by fellow soldiers who say Bergdahl had deserted his post in 2009. And some members of Congress say the president broke the law by not giving them advance notice of the swap.
The five detainees - Mohammad Fazl, Khairullah Khairkhwa, Mullah Norullah Noori, Mohammed Nabi and Abdul Haq Wasiq - are thought to be the most senior Afghans who were held at the U.S. detention facility in Cuba, having been captured during America's military campaign in 2001.
Jubilant: A pro-Taliban website has previously published a video that claims to show Taliban detainees arriving in Qatar after being released from Guantanamo Bay as part of a prisoner exchange
A pro-Taliban website yesterday published a video that claims to show the Taliban detainees arriving in Qatar after being released from Guantanamo Bay as part of the prisoner exchange.
The footage also features in the latest video released by the Taliban.
In the footage, released by nunn.asia, a group of men wearing traditional Muslim dress gather on a roadside in what is said to be Qatar.
When the former prisoners - it's not clear if all of them are present or just a few - pull up in a convoy of black SUVs, they receive a warm reception, with lots of hugs from the awaiting, clearly jubilant, supporters. There is no American presence in sight.
Days after his rescue, Bergdahl (pictured in a video released by the Taliban in 2010) was in stable condition at a U.S. military hospital in Germany
The top military officer in the U.S. has today said the Army could still throw the book at Bergdahl, who walked away from his unit in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan and into five years of captivity by the Taliban.
Charges are still a possibility, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Associated Press as criticism mounted in Congress about releasing five high-level Taliban detainees in exchange for Bergdahl.
The Army might still pursue an investigation, Dempsey said, and those results could conceivably lead to desertion or other charges.
Congress began holding hearings and briefings into the deal that swapped Bergdahl for the Taliban officials and several lawmakers said that President Barack Obama did not notify them as a law governing the release of Guantanamo detainees requires. White House staff members called key members of Congress to apologize, but that didn't resolve the issue.
SOURCE
No comments:
Post a Comment