LINE OF FIRE

‘This Was Nuts’: Taliban Fighters Threaten to Pistol-Whip CNN Producer in Kabul

Clarissa Ward’s team was confronted by two aggressive Taliban fighters on Wednesday.

CNN’s Clarissa Ward has won plaudits around the world for her reporting from the chaotic streets of Kabul in recent days, and her bravery was again made clear during a frightening incident Wednesday. Ward was reporting amid audible gunfire as people around her tried to clear Taliban checkpoints to get to the airport when she said her team was confronted by two aggressive Taliban fighters. “The most frightening moment for our team came when our producer Brent Swails was taking video on his iPhone and two Taliban fighters just came up with their pistols and they were ready to pistol-whip him,” she said. “We had to intervene and scream and it was actually another Taliban fighter who came in and said, ‘No no no, don’t do that, they’re journalists.’” Ward said the situation in Kabul is one of the most volatile she’s ever witnessed, saying: “This was mayhem. This was nuts. This was impossible for an ordinary civilian, even if they have their paperwork, there’s no way they’re running that gauntlet.”