Chinese Mandarin - Taliban still says 2 Koreans to be freed

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WORLD / Middle East

Taliban still says 2 Koreans to be freed

(AP)
Updated: 2007-08-12 16:37

GHAZNI, Afghanistan - A Taliban spokesman reiterated on Sunday that the
militants soon will free two sick, female South Korean hostages but said
the timing of the release hasn't yet been decided. The international Red
Cross said it had no information about an upcoming release.

The spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said the two would be released in part
because Taliban leaders were happy with the progress being made in
face-to-face talks between two Taliban leaders and South Korean
negotiators.

"The time hasn't been decided. It could be today," Ahmadi said of the
release, reiterating an announcement he first made on Saturday.

The reliability of Ahmadi's information is questionable. Some of his
reports turn out to be true but some do not.

Franz Rauchenstein, an official with the International Committee of the
Red Cross, said Sunday he had no information about "when and how and
where these hostages are going to be released," referring to the two
women. Past releases in other hostage situations have been coordinated
through the Red Cross.

Two Taliban leaders and four South Korean officials met Saturday for a
second day of face-to-face talks. The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Koreans,
all volunteers from a church group, last month but later executed two
male captives by gunfire.

Taliban leaders have demanded that 21 militant prisoners be released in
exchange for the Koreans' lives, though the government has said it won't
release any prisoners.

The two Taliban leaders said Saturday that the Koreans would "definitely"
be released, possibly as soon as "today or tomorrow," though South Korea
downplayed that claim, saying it didn't think a release would come so
quickly.

Talks lasted several hours on Saturday, though no new negotiations were
held Sunday morning and it wasn't clear that any would be held in person
the rest of the day.

Marajudin Pathan, the local governor, said late Saturday that negotiators
had not discussed freeing the two women.

"Qari Ahmadi (the Taliban spokesman) is somewhere in Pakistan," Pathan
said. "He's just running his mouth. They (the Taliban) are always giving
contradictory statements."

Pathan said he did not think the hostage crisis would be resolved by
acceding to Taliban demands to release their imprisoned militants, "but
we'll see if it's by some other avenue." He refused to specify if that
meant a ransom payment, though he has said previously he thought money
would resolve the situation.

Mullah Qari Bashir, one of the Taliban negotiators, said on Saturday that
the face-to-face talks were going well and that the Taliban were sticking
with their original demand of a prisoner release.

Asked when the Koreans might be freed, he said: "Hopefully today or
tomorrow."

"I'm very optimistic. The negotiations are continuing on a positive
track," Bashir said.

Separately, two NATO soldiers were killed in separate incidents in
southern and eastern Afghanistan, while several suspected Taliban were
killed when they attacked a U.S. military base for the third time in a
week, officials said.

One NATO soldier was killed and several others wounded, including an
Afghan Army soldier, in an attack Saturday in the south, NATO's
International Security Assistance Force said in a statement Sunday.

Another NATO soldier was killed and two were wounded when a roadside bomb
struck their vehicle during a patrol Saturday in eastern Afghanistan,
ISAF said.

ISAF did not give any further details such as the exact locations of the
two incidents or the nationalities of the soldiers.

In southern Uruzgan province, Taliban militants attacked a U.S. military
base Saturday evening for the third time this week in what the U.S.-led
coalition said might be a rehearsal for a future attempt to overrun the
outpost.

"Several" suspected Taliban were killed Saturday evening in the latest
attack on Firebase Anaconda, in addition to four that were killed in an
earlier attack on the base Saturday, the coalition said.

Insurgents first attacked the base in a rare frontal attack on Tuesday.
The military had said that 23 were killed in that incident but late
Saturday officials raised the number believed killed to 50. Taliban
militants usually shun head-on fights, preferring instead to attack
foreign forces with suicide blasts and roadside bombs.

Coalition spokeswoman Army Capt. Vanessa R. Bowman said the Taliban
attacks are expected "to culminate with a large full-scale attack in the
near future."

In Helmand province, Afghan army and NATO forces clashed with Taliban
militants on Saturday, and the ensuing battle and airstrikes left seven
Taliban dead, said Eizatullah Khan, chief of Sangin district.

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