Taliban threatens more kidnappings By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Writer

Taliban threatens more kidnappings By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago



GHAZNI, Afghanistan - The Taliban will keep kidnapping foreigners in Afghanistan, a purported spokesman for the group said Monday, as the Afghan and U.S. presidents ruled out making any concessions for the release of 21 South Korean hostages.

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Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, said the lives of the 21 hostages rests in the hands of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and President Bush, who met at Camp David on Monday.

"Karzai and Bush will have responsibility for whatever happens to the hostages," Ahmadi said.

The Taliban have demanded the release of 23 militant prisoners held by Afghanistan and at the U.S. base at Bagram, but the Afghan government has all but ruled out that option.

At Camp David, Karzai and Bush agreed that "there should be no quid pro quo" that could embolden the Taliban, said Gordon Johndroe, a Bush spokesman.

Ahmadi said the government's refusal to negotiate would not stop the Taliban from seizing more foreigners.

"Whether the Kabul administration will do the (prisoner) exchange or not, it will not have any effect on our side. The process of kidnapping (foreigners) will be ongoing," he said.

Twenty-three South Koreans from a church group were kidnapped by the Taliban on July 19 while traveling from Kabul to Kandahar to work on medical and other aid projects. Two men in the group have been killed. Among the remaining 21 hostages, 16 are women.

The husband of one of the captives posted a video message on YouTube Monday, telling his wife not to give up hope because they will see each other soon.

"We must be patient for a bit longer. For the sake of our children, stay strong and healthy. Please, hold on to positive thoughts," Ryu Hang-sik told his wife, Kim Yun-yeong. "We will see each other soon."

In the letter, read out in Korean with English subtitles, he expressed guilt about carrying on normal life while she was suffering.

"I can't be more hateful of myself for eating and drinking at a time when you must be really sick and going through so much hardship," he said, weeping. "The children are really proud of you for helping people living in poverty and distress."

In a telephone interview with Voice of America, a woman identified as one of the hostages said all of the captives were ill — two of them seriously — and "cannot eat and sleep well." The woman, who was speaking under the control of her captors, said the hostages were being kept in groups of four.

"We really want to go home, we are all sick and weak," said the woman, who spoke both in English and the Afghan language of Dari. "We are all innocent people. We came here to help these people but now we are all sick."

Two of the hostages have been said to be extremely sick, and an Afghan doctor who heads a private clinic said he dropped off $2,000 worth of antibiotics, vitamins and first aid kits in rural Ghazni province Sunday intended for the captives.

Dr. Mohammad Hashim Wahwaj said the Taliban told him they had picked up the medicine.

A spokesman for the families said they had little faith the Camp David summit would end the crisis.

"The families of the hostages don't seem to expect much from the summit meeting between Afghanistan and the United States," Lee Jeong-hoon, the father of one of the captives, told reporters. "They don't think that the meeting will secure the hostages' release."

The South Korean government has urged Afghanistan to be flexible about its policy of not negotiating with terrorists. But a presidential spokesman had cautioned against expecting too much from the summit.

"It is our government's standpoint that we should work separately from the summit to resolve the hostage issue. It is inappropriate to have any premature expectations or to overly interpret the summit," Cheon Ho-sun said.

Ahmadi said the militants and South Korean officials remain in contact over the phone, but have not yet agreed on a location where they can hold negotiations over the fate of the captives.

If an agreement is not reached for face-to-face talks, the Taliban will not be responsible for "anything bad" that happens to the hostages, Ahmadi said.

In Seoul, an official said Monday that South Korean diplomats had made contact with the captives. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, declined to give further details about the conversation with at least one of the captives, citing safety concerns.

About 150 people demonstrated at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, praying for the hostages' release and demanding U.S. help.

Meanwhile, foreign and Afghan troops killed 13 suspected militants in Zabul province after they tried to attack the checkpoint on the main road linking Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar, said Ali Kheil, the spokesman for Zabul's governor.

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Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim contributed to this report from Seoul, South Korea.