Jazeera airs video of Taliban's German hostage

Dubai, Aug 01: Al Jazeera television broadcast a video today showing a German man held by Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents and said he appealed to Berlin and Washington to withdraw their troops from the Central Asian country.

The man appeared in the video against a rocky backdrop in a hilly area. Al Jazeera did not play the sound of the video.

''The German hostage Rudolf B urged Germany and the United States to pull out their forces from Afghanistan and urged his country to help save his life and secure his return to his homeland and family,'' an Al Jazeera presenter said.

One of the militants pointed a rocket-propelled grenade launcher at the man, who appeared to be unharmed.

Al Jazeera said it also obtained a similar video showing the German engineer's four Afghan companions. It did not say how it obtained the videos.

The Taliban seized two Germans and five Afghans in the Wardak province earlier this month. The body of one of the Germans was found with bullet wounds, and one of the Afghans managed to escape. The rest are still being held.

The Taliban has demanded the release of 10 Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government and the withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the hostages' freedom.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Berlin will not give in to the demands of the kidnappers.

Reuters>