Counterterrorism Blog

On January 25, 2008, NEFA Foundation Investigator Claudio Franco conducted a telephone interview with Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. During the interview, Mujahid discussed the recent suicide bombing of the Serena hotel in Kabul, noting that the attack was an attempt at targeting the Norwegian Foreign Minister. The Taliban spokesman again denied any role in recent turmoil in neighboring Pakistan, insisting, “our activities are inside Afghanistan. This election is an internal matter for Pakistan… we do not care who gets power.” When asked whether the Taliban was responsible for the recent kidnapping of American aid worker Cyd Mizell in Kandahar, Zabiullah responded, "We do not have an exact report as to who may have taken her, whether they were Mujahideen or somebody else. I cannot confirm it now."

An English-subtitled audio recording and an English-language transcript of Claudio Franco's interview with Zabiullah Mujahid are now available on the NEFA Foundation website.