August 11, 2007
Taliban Free Two Female South Korean Hostages
Kabul
The Taliban released two female South Korean hostages after the
Islamist group's "Supreme Council" decided to free the pair due to
their poor health, a purported Taliban spokesman said Saturday.
No independent source has confirmed the Taliban announcement.
"We freed the two female hostages," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad
Yousif Ahmadi told DPA Saturday by phone from an undisclosed
location.
He refused to give further details but earlier said the Taliban had
decided to release two of the female South Korean hostages "without
any condition", as the face-to-face talks between the kidnappers and
Seoul's delegates were on Saturday.
"Taliban leadership council has decided to release two sick female
hostages without any condition or exchange," Ahmadi said earlier.
He called the move "a gesture of goodwill" and added: "Now the
Korean government, its people and others should try to decide
regarding the fate of the rest of the hostages, and also try to
release our prisoners and accept our demands."
Asked the reason for the decision to release the hostages, Ahmadi
said that "since these two are sick and are women, we will release
them without any conditions or return."
Earlier Taliban had said the South Korean officials on Saturday
resumed direct talks with representatives of the Taliban to discuss
the fate of 21 remaining South Korean hostages abducted in
Afghanistan.
Ahamdi said the meeting was still ongoing and, "the two delegates
from the Taliban side who are still in the meeting with the South
Koreans would decide the time and place for the handing over of the
two female hostages.
"The face-to-face meeting is still ongoing and we are optimistic
that a positive result will be yielded soon," he added.
The Taliban Friday said two of its leaders, Mullah Nasrullah and
Mullah Mohammad Bashir, had been appointed by the "Taliban Supreme
Council" to carry out the negotiations with the South Korean
representatives.
The group said the Afghan government had guaranteed safety for the
Taliban's negotiators at the venue.
Ahmadi said the team had been discussing the exchange of the
Taliban's comrades in Afghan government custody with the hostages,
and the possible pullout of some 200 South Korean troops from
Afghanistan.
"In the meeting we are speaking regarding our two already mentioned
demands," Ahmadi said, adding that "one is the pullout of the Korean
troops from Afghanistan and the second demand is to release our
prisoners in exchange for the freedom of the hostages."
The Afghan government has vowed not to bow to the Taliban's demands
and warned that they would use force if the matter was not resolved
peacefully.
The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Korean Christian health aid
volunteers July 19 in the eastern province of Ghazni as they were
travelling by bus from Kabul to the southern Kandahar province.
They have since killed two of the five male hostages after initial
deadlines expired.
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