Reuters: Afghan Forces Surround Taliban Kidnappers
As of 10:15 AM Eastern Time:
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan army and police surrounded the Taliban kidnappers of 23 Koreans on Sunday while tribal elders tried to mediate between the militants and government negotiators, a Kabul-based Western security analyst said.
The 23 hostages belong to the “Saemmul Church” in Bundang, a city outside South Korea’s capital, Seoul. Most of them are in their 20s and 30s, and include nurses and English teachers.
Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said insurgents would start killing the hostages if South Korea did not agree to withdraw its 200 military engineers and medics by 1430 GMT on Sunday and the Afghan government did not free Taliban prisoners.
The South Korean government has said it will withdraw its troops at the end of this year as planned.
“Afghan forces have surrounded the location of the kidnappers,” the security analyst said. “They have no way to escape.”
Afghan government negotiators were in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province where the Koreans were seized and tribal elders were mediating with the group of around 70 Taliban kidnappers, he said.
But Afghan forces were also poised to strike.
“They are awaiting orders to assault suspected locations,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement. “The operation will be launched if Defence Ministry authorities deem it necessary.”
Taliban spokesmen Yousuf said fighters were holding the captives at different locations and any attempt to free them by force would put the Koreans’ lives at risk. Continued…
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Can you spell b-l-o-o-d-b-a-t-h????
July 22nd, 2007 at 7:08 amcreate a kill zone and let the shit fly
July 22nd, 2007 at 8:08 amWe’re good at hostage rescues. Let’s get it on.
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:34 amthe koreans as in Iraq are their in support with engineers and medical people and the taliban doesnt even want that. I hope ordinary afghanis could see the writing on the wall, that the taliban want total control of every party of their lives and arent conscerned at all about their welfare.
scumbags. if the koreans die, the locals her in korea will riot and round up the musklims here. Koreans are passive people, but when kim sun ill was beheaded in iraqw, many koreans when to the Seoul central Masjid to prtoest. the korean protestants are very zealous missionaries, they have built a reputation as being very pushy. AS a Catholic myself, I respect their zeal and know full well they proseltize without force. they can be annoying but not threatening . herein lies the difference between christian and muslim fundamentalism.
they kill these korean missionaries, like kim sun il, they will be making real martyrs because everyone should know by now that their kidnapping was more than political , they were kidnapped because they were converting muslims. the koran justifies killing these people, the bible’s ultimate 1 way ticket to heaven is to “lay down ones life for your friends” and do no harm in the process. the taliban is only prooving that its faith is fragile!
July 22nd, 2007 at 4:46 pmIf only the Afghan Army would turn the rescue over to the South Korean Marines….
July 22nd, 2007 at 5:04 pm