South Korean Hostages Freed After Six Weeks

Aug 30, 07:51 AM

Current Headlines: By AMIR SHAH QALA-E-KAZI and CATHERINE MacLEOD

TALIBAN militants yesterday released 12 of 19 South Koreans held for nearly six weeks in Afghanistan as part of a deal that one Afghan minister warned would embolden the insurgents.

The hostages were released into the care of Red Cross officials at three central locations, according to a witness.

The remaining seven will be released over the next 48 hours, Taliban commanders have said.

None of the 12 spoke to reporters, who were asked not to question them.

The first three women freed arrived in Qala-E-Kazi in a single car, their heads covered with shawls. Red Cross officials quickly took them to their vehicles before leaving for the office of the Afghan Red Crescent in the town of Ghazni.

Under the terms of the deal, South Korea reaffirmed a pledge it made before the hostage crisis began to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Seoul also said it would prevent South Korean Christian missionaries from working in the staunchly Muslim nation.

The Taliban apparently backed down on earlier demands for a prisoner exchange. However, the militant group, which killed two South Korean hostages last month, could emerge with enhanced legitimacy for negotiating with a foreign government.

"One has to say that this release under these conditions will make our difficulties in Afghanistan even bigger, " Commerce Minister Amin Farhang said. "We fear that this decision could become a precedent. The Taliban will continue trying to take hostages to attain their aims in Afghanistan."

A German engineer and four Afghan colleagues kidnapped a day before the South Koreans are still being held.

The Taliban originally kidnapped 23 South Koreans as they travelled by bus from Kabul to Kandahar on July 19. In late July, the militants killed two male hostages, and they released two women earlier this month as gesture of goodwill.

In Kabul, Douglas Alexander, the international development secretary, yesterday pledged a further GBP55m to help pay the salaries of Afghan teachers, nurses and doctors, as he made his first visit to the country.

"Rebuilding Afghanistan requires long-term commitment from the UK and the rest of the international community, " he said.

The new financial commitment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan brings the UK's total investment to GBP500m over three years, and will be spent through Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund.

Originally published by Newsquest Media Group.

(c) 2007 Herald, The; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.