Video Shows U.S. Troops Ambushed by the Taliban
The 51-minute video was released by a previously unknown group called "Nedaa Al Jihad Media Center" and is focused on Taliban activities in northeastern Afghanistan. It is entitled "The Breaking of the Cross" and is entirely in Dari, a language spoken in northern and western parts of Afghanistan.
The undated video shows a group of militants on top of a mountain with binoculars conducting surveillance on the base. The camera catches two U.S. soldiers walking near their watch booth.
The men then attend a briefing session where the plan of attack is explained over a rough sketch of the area. The following 12 minutes of the tape show the attack on the base. Although gunshots are heard, no fighting can be seen. The group takes an Afghani soldier, who is seen crying, as hostage. The commander of the group in Nuristan, identified in the tape as Mulai Mohammed Muneeb, makes a short statement announcing the outcome of the raid. The group shows footage of two men killed during the attack and show off the booty they seized, including a laptop, radios, weapons ammunition and weapons.
Taliban's former information minister Mohammed Yasser also makes a short statement to honor the militants who have been killed in the clashes. Yasser had been released along with four other Taliban leaders in exchange for the release of an Italian reporter that the Taliban captured in 2007.
The video also includes footage of an ambush of a joint U.S.-Afghan foot-patrol in Nuristan. The militants are seen opening fire on a number of men from atop of a mountain. The shaky footage shows U.S. and Afghani troops having nowhere to hide from the shots. Close-up shots then show the bodies of a U.S. and an Afghani soldier. Once again, the outcome of the raid is announced by Muneed, the commander of the area.
The video ends with shots of a helicopter that the group claims to have downed in Nuristan. There were reports a U.S. helicopter making an emergency landing in Nuristan on May 13th after being shot by militants.