Taliban Release Video Footage of Bergdahl Handover

Taliban forces on Wednesday released an unverified footage of US army sergeant Bowe Bergdal moments after his turnover to US forces after five years in captivity.

The video shows Taliban fighters leading Bergdahl towards a US military Black Hawk chopper. Bergdahl is holding a white flag.

CNN reports said a group of men, believed to be US special forces, then took Bergdahl back to the helicopter after a brief exchange of handshakes and greetings with the Taliban negotiators.

Bergdahl was freed on Saturday in exchange for five Taliban members detained at Guantanamo Bay in a deal brokered by Qatar. The release has evoked sharp criticism from some US politicians, who fear they could return to the battlefield and pose a threat to Americans abroad.

Bergdahl is the only US soldier held by the Taliban after being captured in Afghanistan.

In the video, entitled “Ceremony of the American soldier exchange”, also displays the words “Don’t Come Back to Afghanistan” superimposed over footage of Bergdahl, according to CNN report.

It also contains a male voiceover laced with religious music and chants of “Allahu Akbar,” revealing that the place of exchange occurred in the eastern Afghan province of Khost.

Reports said US defence officials have said dozens of US special forces troops backed up by helicopters were sent for the handover.

“Fortunately, no shots were fired. There was no violence. It went as well as we not only had expected and planned, but I think as well as it could have,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Sunday. The US army sergeant, who is reported to have abandoned his post before being captured, is now being treated at a US military facility in Germany, report said.

Moreover, US military’s top officer General Martin Dempsey said earlier that Bergdahl may face be disciplined if the army holds him guilty of misconduct.