August 28, 2007

Taliban To Release South Korean Hostages

Over a month after the Taliban abducted a group of South Korean aid workers in central Afghanistan, the militants agreed to release the 19 remaining hostages in captivity.

The South Korean government reported today that the Taliban had agreed to let the Christian aid workers go after face-to-face talks mediated by the Red Cross in the Afghan city of Ghazni. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi confirmed the deal to the Associated Press but declined to give specifics on the date or location of the hostages' release.

Bloomberg cited a negotiator and tribal elder who told the Agence France-Presse that the South Koreans "will be freed in three or four days," and Thomson Financial reports that the hostages are expected to be transferred to Kabul.

In exchange, South Korea promised to withdraw its 200 troops stationed in Afghanistan by the end of the year -- which had already been scheduled -- and end missionary activities in the country.

Twenty-three hostages were originally captured. The group's leader was killed a few days after the July 19 kidnapping, and a second was killed in late July after the Afghan government failed to appease the kidnappers. Two female hostages were released a few weeks ago in a sign that negotiations were progressing.

Posted at 10:50 AM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Asia, South Korea, Terrorism
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