 Negotiations to secure the release of 19 Korean church volunteers being held in Afghanistan by the Taliban have failed and the insurgents' leadership council is now considering their fate, a Taliban spokesman said on Saturday.
| If the talks had "succeeded," the Talibs would be able to just grab anybody at any time to get their guys out of jug. And since the prisoners are 19 pretty, for the most part, girls, they may still "succeed." |
"The talks ended without any result and have failed as our main demand was not accepted," Qari Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. "I don't think (further) talks will yield anything. I am awaiting for the decision (on the hostages fate) from the leadership council," he said. He said the talks between the Taliban and South Korean officials broke down last Thursday, the day they were reported to have started. The Taliban on Monday freed two women hostages, the first to be released since they seized 23 Koreans from a bus in Ghazni province on the main road south from the capital Kabul last month. They have killed two male hostages. They have threatened to kill the remaining captives if their demand for insurgent prisoners to be freed from jail is not met. |