Jill Carroll Watched Oprah With Her Captors

Aug. 14, 2006 — -- Jill Carroll's terrifying ordeal began with the death of her friend and translator, Allan Enwiya.

"I saw them kill Allan. Then, they got in the car, and we drove off," Carroll said. "And they were screaming, 'Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!' They were overjoyed, like they had won the lottery. And they were just so happy and excited. They would look at me, and they would ask me questions like, 'Are you an American? What's your nationality? What's your religion?'"

Carroll said her captors later told her they weren't sure she was American because of her brown hair and eyes.

"They think all Americans have blond hair and blue eyes, 'cause you see them in movies," she said.

In an exclusive interview with her employer, The Christian Science Monitor, provided first to ABC News, she described those 82 days in captivity.

For full coverage of Carroll's story, visit www.csmonitor.com

Carroll said that her captors seemed confused at first about what to do with her. On her first day in captivity, she was taken to a small home in a field.

"And they made me change all my clothes there, all my clothes, including my underwear," Carroll said. "I think they were afraid I might have a cell phone on me, or something on me to like, communicate with someone else, or warn people that I had been kidnapped."

Carroll said she was then taken to another home. She said her second captor and his family seemed eager to impress her.

"He had gotten on the phone to call home to say he was coming home, and then he got off the phone and said, 'Oh, my mother, and my sister, and my wife, say they love you so much!' They are so happy that you are coming. You are going to meet them all. They love you very much. They can't wait to meet you!" she said.

He also asked her what she liked to eat, she said.

"I don't understand why they would want to kidnap you, and kill your friend, and then bring you food. I didn't understand that at all," Carroll said.

"They wanted me to like them, it seemed, or something. So, I wanted them to think I liked them. … I didn't use any Arabic, because I was afraid that if I spoke too much Arabic they would think that I was listening to something I shouldn't be listening to. I was scared to death."