Taliban extends deadline for South Korean hostages

A purported Taliban spokesman said on Sunday that the hardline militia had extended by 24 hours the deadline for the Afghan government to trade captured militants for 23 South Korean hostages.

A purported Taliban spokesman said on Sunday that the hardline militia had extended by 24 hours the deadline for the Afghan government to trade captured militants for 23 South Korean hostages.

Afghan elders leading the hostage negotiations met with the kidnappers and said the Koreans were healthy, but the Afghan military said troops had “surrounded” the region in case the government decided the military should move in.

Villagers, meanwhile, found the body of a German construction worker kidnapped in a separate incident on Wednesday.

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Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, said the militants were giving the Afghan and South Korean governments until 1430 GMT on Monday to respond to their demand that 23 Taliban prisoners be freed in exchange for the Koreans.

“The Korean government should put pressure on the Afghan government to give a positive response to the Taliban’s demands,” Ahdmadi told The Associated Press by satellite phone. “They should try to solve things through negotiations in order to save the lives of the hostages and so they can get home without being harmed.”

Neither the Afghan nor Korean governments have commented on the purported Taliban offer. A delegation of eight Korean officials arrived in the capital of Kabul on Sunday and met with President Hamid Karzai to discuss the crisis.

Meanwhile, a police chief in Ghazni province said Afghan officials and elders had met with the kidnappers on Sunday.