The Taliban released a video showing the handover of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to the United States forces in eastern Afghanistan showing the captive dazed and malnourished, Reuters reported
The video was emailed to media on Wednesday and shows Bergdahl in traditional Afghan clothing sitting in a pickup truck parked on a hillside, according to Reuters. More than a dozen Taliban fighters can be seen with machineguns standing around the truck and on the hillside.
Bergdahl is seen blinking frequently as he looks at and listens to his captors, Reuters reported. A Black Hawk helicopter then lands and two Taliban fighters, one carrying a white flag, lead Bergdahl half way.
One of Bergdahl's escorts has his faced covered by a checkered scarf as a cloud of dust is thrown up by the Blackhawk, according to Reuters. Soldiers dressed in military fatigue stand by the helicopter observing the handover.
"We told them: if he is not in good health, please tell us. We tried to communicate with them through their interpreter, but they did not wait," the Taliban reporter says in the clip, according to Reuters.
Bergdahl was held for five years and was released Saturday in a swap for five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo, according to Reuters.
Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban after leaving his base in unclear circumstances and spent five years in captivity, learning Pashto and taking an interest in Islamic books, according to the Taliban, Reuters reported.
The video starts plays a Taliban victory song and the message in English flashes up: "Don' come back to Afghanistan," according to Reuters. Then, it cuts to the arrival of the five released leaders in Qatar after more than a decade spent in Guantanamo Bay, where they are received with warm embraces.
The video's authenticity could not be independently verified, Reuters reported. The Pentagon said it had no reason to doubt its authenticity, but was reviewing it.
