By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
10 minutes ago
GHAZNI, Afghanistan - Taliban militants agreed Tuesday to release 19 South Korean church volunteers held hostage for six weeks after Seoul
reaffirmed a pledge to withdraw its troops by year's end and prevent
Christian missionaries from working in Afghanistan.
As many as eight of the hostages could be freed on Wednesday, a Taliban representative said.
The militants apparently backed away from demands for a prisoner
exchange. But the Taliban, who killed two South Korean hostages last
month, could emerge with enhanced political legitimacy for negotiating
successfully with a foreign government.
Also Tuesday, a suicide bomber attacked NATO troops helping build a
bridge in eastern Afghanistan, killing three American soldiers, a U.S.
official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because not
all families had been notified. NATO, in announcing the attack, said six soldiers also were wounded.
The accord for the South Koreans' release came during one of the
bloodiest periods of the Taliban's war against U.S. and NATO forces
since the Taliban regime was toppled in late 2001 after the Sept. 11
attacks on the United States.
South Korea's
decision to hold face-to-face negotiations with the militants may
dismay the United States government, which refuses to talk to the
Taliban.
"Maybe they (the Taliban) did not achieve all that they demanded,
but they achieved a lot in terms of political credibility," said
Mustafa Alani, director of security and terrorism studies at the Dubai-based
Gulf Research Center. "The fact that the Koreans negotiated with them
directly and more or less in their territory ... is in itself an
achievement."
State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Tuesday that the U.S.
wanted the Koreans returned to their families and stressed that U.S.
policy was not to make concessions to terrorists.
The Taliban kidnapped 23 Koreans as they traveled by bus from Kabul
to Kandahar on July 19. The militants killed two male hostages in late
July, then freed two women captives earlier this month.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi had said that the South Koreans
?mostly women in their 20s and 30s ?would be freed "in the coming
days" and that tribal elders would act as go-betweens. The captives are
believed to be held in several different locations, and Ahmadi said
that it might take several days to free them all.
On Wednesday, Mullah Basheer, a Taliban commander involved in the
talks, said the militants will "hopefully" free five to eight captives
that day ?including at least one man. He did not give further details.
The deal for the hostages' release was struck during talks between
Taliban negotiators and South Korean diplomats in the central city of
Ghazni. The Afghan government was not party to the negotiations, which
were mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The hostages' relatives in South Korea welcomed news of the deal.
"I would like to dance," said Cho Myung-ho, mother of 28-year-old hostage Lee Joo-yeon.
South Korean presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-sun said the deal had
been reached "on the condition that South Korea withdraws troops by the
end of the year and South Korea suspends missionary work in
Afghanistan."
Seoul
already had said it would withdraw its 200 soldiers in the country this
year. It also has sought to prevent missionaries from traveling to
countries where they are not wanted.
The South Korean government
and relatives of the hostages have stressed that the kidnapped South
Koreans were not Christian missionaries, but were doing aid work.
Missionaries from South Korea and dozens of other countries have
historically been active in Afghanistan, and there is no way of knowing
how many are in the country. Most operate without the knowledge of
their governments, and there is some disagreement about the boundaries
between missionary work, proselytizing and Christian-inspired aid
efforts.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,
a former South Korean foreign minister, said he exerted "all possible
efforts" as secretary-general to obtain the release of the hostages,
talking to leaders in Afghanistan and the region who might have
influence.
"I'm pleased to hear that news and I welcome that news that both the Korean government and Taliban
representatives have agreed to release the remaining 19 hostages," he
said. "At this time I do hope that they will be released as soon as
possible."
Taliban spokesmen have insisted they had no interest in a
ransom payment. The South Korean presidential spokesman, Cheon, told
The Associated Press that he had been informed by South Korean officials in Afghanistan that money was not discussed with the Taliban.
Cha Sung-min, whose 32-year-old sister, Cha Hye-jin, was among the
hostages, said he was "sorry to the public for causing concern, but we
thank the government officials for the (impending) release."
"Still, our hearts are broken as two died, so we convey our
sympathy to the bereaved family members," said Cha Sung-min, who has
served as a spokesman for the hostages' relatives.
