The Story of The Times Reporter Held 7 Months by the Taliban

2 years ago

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Contributing Editor

The New York Times reports:

The car's engine roared as the gunman punched the accelerator and we crossed into the open Afghan desert. I was seated in the back between two Afghan colleagues who were accompanying me on a reporting trip when armed men surrounded our car and took us hostage.

For the next seven months and 10 days, Atiqullah and his men kept the three of us hostage. We were held in Afghanistan for a week, then spirited to the tribal areas of Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding.

During our time as hostages, I tried to reason with our captors. I told them we were journalists who had come to hear the Taliban's side of the story. Over those months, I came to a simple realization. After seven years of reporting in the region, I did not fully understand how extreme many of the Taliban had become.

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