Taliban kidnappings rise, but style differs from Al Qaeda

The release of an Italian reporter in Afghanistan Monday sheds light on Taliban tactics.

from the March 20, 2007 edition

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NEW DELHI - Italy's confirmation Monday that the Taliban had released Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo marked a positive end to an increasingly familiar story in Afghanistan.

Unlike insurgents in Iraq, the Taliban had largely refrained from abducting journalists in the past, and had never killed one that they had captured. In the past five months, however, the Taliban have held four different sets of reporters, including Mr. Mastrogiacomo, and they killed his Afghan driver last week, claiming that the man was a government spy.

Although all the journalists have been freed, the events suggest that flashpoints between journalists and the Taliban are on the rise. As the Taliban and NATO dial up operations for what could be a crucial spring, tensions are mounting, and journalists are being caught in the middle.

"Given the military situation there, the ante has been upped for journalists," says Bob Dietz, Asia expert for the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York.

Although details were uncertain at press time, media reports suggested that Mastrogiacomo had been freed in exchange for at least two Taliban prisoners: a former spokesman named Latif Hakimi, and a former leader named Ustad Yasar. He spent one night with tribal elders as an interim step toward freedom as the Taliban pushed for more concessions. The Taliban demanded that a third person – also a former spokesman – be released, but it was not certain if this had occurred.

Mastrogiacomo, a veteran journalist who has covered conflicts including Iraq and Lebanon, was kidnapped on March 4 while reporting in Helmand, a Taliban stronghold and currently the site of the largest NATO operation since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. He appeared to be well aware of the dangers of reporting from the area, which is largely outside government control. According to one report, shortly before he was captured, he told an editor at the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, for which he works, that he had a "rather delicate meeting" scheduled.

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