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Taliban Kidnaps S. Korean Christians, Issues Ultimatum
By Fisnik Abrashi
Associated Press
Saturday, July 21, 2007; Page A14
KABUL, July 20 -- Taliban fighters kidnapped at least 18 South Korean Christians from a bus Thursday, and a man purporting to speak for the Taliban said later that they would be killed within 24 hours unless South Korea withdrew its 200 troops from Afghanistan.
In the largest abduction of foreigners since the Taliban was driven from power in 2001, several dozen fighters kidnapped the South Koreans at gunpoint on a highway in Ghazni province on Thursday, said Ali Shah Ahmadzai, the provincial police chief.
South Korean leaders "have got until tomorrow [Saturday] at noon to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, or otherwise we will kill the 18 Koreans," Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, told the Associated Press by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location. "Right now they are safe and sound."
[South Korea said Saturday it plans to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year as scheduled. Foreign Minister Song Min Soon told reporters that 23 South Koreans were kidnapped and indicated that they were safe.]
Outmatched by foreign troops, Taliban fighters often resort to kidnapping civilians caught traveling on treacherous roads, particularly in the country's south, where the insurgency is raging. The tactic hurts President Hamid Karzai's government by discouraging foreigners involved in reconstruction projects from venturing into remote areas where their help is most needed.
The abductions came a day after two Germans and five Afghan colleagues working on a dam project were kidnapped in central Wardak province. Ahmadi said the Taliban was also holding the two Germans, and he threatened that they would be killed unless Germany withdrew its 3,000 troops from a NATO-led force by noon Saturday -- the same deadline he gave South Korea.
A year ago, hundreds of South Korean Christians were ordered to leave Afghanistan amid rumors they were proselytizing in the deeply conservative Islamic nation. A member of that group promised they would return to the country in smaller groups, but denied the accusations of spreading Christianity.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that most of the people taken hostage Thursday were members of the Saemmul Community Church in Bundang, just south of the South Korean capital, Seoul.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy.../07/20/AR2007072002089.html?hpid=sec-religion
By Fisnik Abrashi
Associated Press
Saturday, July 21, 2007; Page A14
KABUL, July 20 -- Taliban fighters kidnapped at least 18 South Korean Christians from a bus Thursday, and a man purporting to speak for the Taliban said later that they would be killed within 24 hours unless South Korea withdrew its 200 troops from Afghanistan.
In the largest abduction of foreigners since the Taliban was driven from power in 2001, several dozen fighters kidnapped the South Koreans at gunpoint on a highway in Ghazni province on Thursday, said Ali Shah Ahmadzai, the provincial police chief.
South Korean leaders "have got until tomorrow [Saturday] at noon to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, or otherwise we will kill the 18 Koreans," Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, told the Associated Press by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location. "Right now they are safe and sound."
[South Korea said Saturday it plans to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year as scheduled. Foreign Minister Song Min Soon told reporters that 23 South Koreans were kidnapped and indicated that they were safe.]
Outmatched by foreign troops, Taliban fighters often resort to kidnapping civilians caught traveling on treacherous roads, particularly in the country's south, where the insurgency is raging. The tactic hurts President Hamid Karzai's government by discouraging foreigners involved in reconstruction projects from venturing into remote areas where their help is most needed.
The abductions came a day after two Germans and five Afghan colleagues working on a dam project were kidnapped in central Wardak province. Ahmadi said the Taliban was also holding the two Germans, and he threatened that they would be killed unless Germany withdrew its 3,000 troops from a NATO-led force by noon Saturday -- the same deadline he gave South Korea.
A year ago, hundreds of South Korean Christians were ordered to leave Afghanistan amid rumors they were proselytizing in the deeply conservative Islamic nation. A member of that group promised they would return to the country in smaller groups, but denied the accusations of spreading Christianity.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that most of the people taken hostage Thursday were members of the Saemmul Community Church in Bundang, just south of the South Korean capital, Seoul.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy.../07/20/AR2007072002089.html?hpid=sec-religion
