Al-Qaida, Taliban cooperated in kidnapping of American worker

ISLAMABAD — Details provided by senior Taliban commanders of the kidnapping of an American aid expert reveal strong links and cooperation between the Taliban and al-Qaida in Pakistan.

These commanders in Pakistan tell NBC News that members of Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP or Pakistani Taliban) were responsible for Warren Weinstein's abduction from his home in Lahore in August. Over the last three-and-a-half months, they say, Weinstein has been shifted from place to place, making him harder to trace. He ultimately landed in what Taliban commanders are calling a "secure" place in Pakistan's tribal areas in the border region with Afghanistan.

According to the militant leaders, TTP members initially kept Weinstein in Lahore, later shifting him just outside the city to a nearby town. He was repeatedly shifted to new locations over the weeks that followed until he could be transferred to an area completely controlled by the TTP and al-Qaida. Only then, say these commanders, was there a public claim of responsibility for the kidnapping.

In an audio recording issued on Islamist websites Thursday, al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Weinstein. The statement by al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri demanded the release of prisoners held by the U.S. at the Guantanamo detention center in Cuba and all others imprisoned for ties to al-Qaida or the Taliban. It also called for an end to airstrikes in Muslim countries in exchange for Weinstein's freedom.

Msnbc