Deadline Passes in Korean Hostage Standoff in Afghanistan
25 July 2007
A deadline set by Taleban kidnappers in Afghanistan has passed, with no word on the fate of their 22 Korean hostages.
A purported Taleban spokesman says the hostages would be killed unless Afghan authorities release Taleban prisoners in exchange for the Koreans.
Afghan police say kidnappers have already killed one hostage. The victim's body was found earlier today in Ghazni province. Police said the militants claimed he was shot, because he was sick and could not walk.
There have been reports that some of the South Koreans have been released, but local officials have denied the claim.
Taleban representatives say they have lost patience after several days of negotiations with tribal elders representing Afghan and South Korean officials and the latest deadline will be the last.
The 23 South Korean Christian aid workers, 18 women and five men, were abducted last week as they were riding in a bus in eastern Afghanistan.
Also Wednesday, the governor of Kunar province says militants freed a foreign journalist and his Afghan translator after seizing the pair early this morning in the eastern region.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
