Taliban Threatens To Kill 23 Korean Hostages

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 7-22-2007 | Megan Levy

[blam]

Taliban threatens to kill 23 Korean hostages

By Megan Levy and agencies
Last Updated: 3:16pm BST 22/07/2007

The Taliban has threatened to kill 23 South Korean hostages held in Afghanistan, as security forces surround the building where they are being held captive.

The 23 hostages were abducted on Thursday

Afghan and US troops have arrived at the complex in the southern province of Ghazni where officials believe the South Koreans - Christian evangelists - are being held, an Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman said.

The soldiers have cordoned off the area and are awaiting orders, but so far there had not been any engagement, he added.

The Taliban has responded aggressively to the action.

"If there's any military action against us, we'll kill the hostages," Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said.

Mr Ahmadi confirmed that the extremist movement was in negotiations with the government over the fate of the hostages.

The Koreans, who are from an evangelical Christian group that was on an aid mission to Afghanistan, were abducted from a bus travelling from Kandahar to Kabul on Thursday.

The Taliban want to swap the 23 men and women for jailed fighters, and are also demanding that South Korean forces leave Afghanistan.

A team of hostage negotiators arrived in Kabul from Seoul earlier today.

The police chief of Ghazni province, Alishah Ahmadzai, said talks were being held with the Taliban through tribal elders and religious leaders.

"I hope we get good results," he said.

[EGPWS]

It was a bad year and I am glad he made it.

Bad year?

Now that is a relative term to say the least.

I'm happy for him too.

[expatguy]

"That said, I must ask why is it that these “spokesmen” for the taliban are still breathing?"

I like to call it a "conflict of conscience" ~ we have become so desperate for peace that we are willing to do anything just to make the pain stop. That includes appeasement, bribes you name it.

History has taught us that there is no negotiating with a crocodile and yet we continue this drama thinking that somehow we can buy them off - maybe offer to build school blah blah blah 0-

What we should be doing and what we should have done from the very beginning is to exterminate these reprobates with extreme prejudice using the most powerful weapons in our arsenal.

An American Expat in Southeast Asia