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Taliban say they have killed a second SKorean hostage
GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AFP) - Afghanistan's Taliban militia said it shot dead late Monday a South Korean hostage, among 23 captured two weeks ago, after its deadlines expired for the government to free prisoners. "We set several deadlines and the Afghan government did not pay attention to our deadlines," spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP. "Finally tonight at 8:30 (1600 GMT) we killed one of the Koreans named Sung Sin with AK-47 gunshots." The body of the hostage had been dumped in the Qarabagh district of the southern province of Ghazni, Ahmadi said. He did not specify the gender of the captive but his use of the Pashtu language suggested a man was killed. The area is where 23 South Korean Christians, 16 of them women, were captured on July 19 while officially on an aid mission. The Taliban threatened on Sunday to start killing them Monday if its demand was ignored. The leader of the Koreans, a 42-year-old pastor, was shot dead on Wednesday last week and his bullet-riddled body found in a desert area of the province. There was no independent confirmation of the latest killing, but Afghan officials said they were pursuing unconfirmed intelligence reports that two of the hostages were dead."We have heard reports of two hostages killed but I cannot confirm it at this stage," Ghazni governor Mirajuddin Pattan told AFP. Provincial police chief Alishah Ahmadzai said his information was that two bodies had been dumped in the Char Daiwal area of the Qarabagh, which is 140 kilometres (90 miles) south of Kabul. "Although it's night and dark, police forces have gone to the area and have started a search and investigation there. We don't know at this stage if it is true or not," he said. The South Korean embassy here has refused to comment to press on the case. The hardline Islamic militia extended a deadline of noon Monday by four hours, saying afterwards it leaders were deciding on the fate of its captives. It had demanded the government free Taliban men in its jails but negotiators said this was not up for discussion and called for two extra days to try to resolve the crisis. Posted by: tu3031 2007-07-30 |
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