Commander says Seoul paid millions to release hostages
Newsweek Feb 7, 08 9:40 AM CST
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The Taliban released 21 South Korean hostages five months ago only after Seoul paid at least $4 million in ransom, a senior insurgent commander now claims. Contrary to South Korea's official denial to Newsweek that money changed hands, the commander said freeing the missionaries without recompense "would not have been worth it."
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Freed Koreans describe harrowing 6-week Afghanistan ordeal
BBC Sep 12, 07 5:46 PM CDT
(Newser)
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South Korean aid workers held captive by Taliban militants in Afghanistan recounted being urged at gunpoint to convert to Islam during at a news conference in Seoul today, the BBC reports. They were often beaten and forced to work "like slaves" during a six-week ordeal, which ended last month and left two of the 23 hostages dead.
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They're sorry for 'causing trouble'
BBC Sep 2, 07 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Nineteen relieved Christian aid workers returned home to South Korea yesterday after Taliban kidnapers released them from six weeks of captivity. They sank into the grateful arms of family and apologized to the public for "causing trouble." Korean officials had warned the church group not to travel to Afghanistan. The government denies paying ransom for the hostages' release.
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Associated Press Aug 31, 07 12:10 PM CDT
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"All I could think about was staying alive," said one of the South Korean aid workers released from captivity in Afghanistan yesterday. “Now that the tension is gone my body aches all over.” The group reunited in a Kabul hotel today and spoke to the South Korean media before boarding a plane for Dubai. Two ex-hostages apologized for the trouble caused by their six-week ordeal.
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Christian aid workers out of Taliban hands after 6 weeks
CNN Aug 30, 07 1:34 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Taliban militants in Afghanistan freed the remaining seven South Korean hostages today, CNN reports, ending an episode that began July 19 with the abduction of 23 Christian aid workers. After two were executed, the remaining hostages were gradually released as the South Korean government negotiated with the captors, promising to halt missionary work in Afghanistan and proceed with troop withdrawal.
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Last Koreans
also scheduled
for release
Associated Press Aug 30, 07 10:17 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Taliban militants released four of their remaining seven South Korean hostages today. The two men and two women were released to Red Cross officials on a road in central Afghanistan, the AP reports. The Red Cross is on its way to pick up the three remaining hostages from the original 23. None of the freed hostages, held for six weeks, has talked to reporters yet.
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Taliban freeing prisoners after reaching a deal with South Korea
BBC Aug 29, 07 6:56 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Taliban released eight hostages today, a day after reaching a deal with the South Korean government. Three who were released earlier this morning were brought to the town of Ghazni by tribal elders—acting as mediators—then handed over to the Red Cross. South Korea has agreed to pull out its troops from Afghanistan (as already planned) and stop its citizens from traveling there.
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Taliban, Seoul agree on terms, including withdrawal of troops
CNN Aug 28, 07 8:14 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Talks between the Taliban and the South Korean government have resulted in the outline of a deal to release the remaining 19 hostages held in Afghanistan for over a month. The agreement involves withdrawal of Korea's 200 noncombat troops and an end to missionary activity, CNN reports, but not payment of ransom. Their release may not be imminent.
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Kidnappers call themselves 'a special network,' police say they are not Taliban
CNN Aug 19, 07 6:49 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Afghan police stormed a secret location in Kabul today and freed a German aid worker held by kidnappers this weekend, CNN reports. Her abductors had circulated a video of her asking for the release of unknown prisoners and pleading for her own freedom. The captors said only that they are “a special network” and “not bad people;" police claim that the Taliban was not behind the abduction.
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Taliban says demands not met; group is considering the fate of 19 captives
Reuters Aug 18, 07 11:46 AM CDT
(Newser)
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As the 19 remaining Korean hostages await news of their fate, negotiations to secure their release have failed, according to a Taliban spokesman. The terror group says its principal demand—the liberation of insurgents being held by coalition forces—was not met; South Korean officials have insisted Seoul has no power to release captured them.
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Hostage crisis has Korean Christians pondering direction
BBC Aug 15, 07 3:39 PM CDT
(Newser)
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As 19 South Korean aid workers wallow in a Taliban prison camp, many in the world community are openly wondering why they were in Afghanistan in the first place. Even as they pray for the release of their fellow parishioners, members of a suburban Seoul church are dodging critics who say their charity mission ignored official warnings about traveling to—let alone proselytizing in—the war zone.
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Women in Red Cross custody after roadside hand-over
Daily Telegraph (UK) Aug 13, 07 8:37 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Taliban freed two of the South Korean hostages abducted in Afghanistan today, releasing them to the Red Cross in Ghazni province, the Telegraph reports. A BBC reporter saw the two women, who were reported to be in "fair" health and were released after talks with South Korean negotiators. Two of the 23 prisoners have already been killed.
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Militant group will release sick women from captivity,
report says
Associated Press Aug 11, 07 1:41 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Taliban will release two South Korean hostages who have become sick after nearly a month of captivity in Afghanistan. The announcement came during talks between the militant group and South Korean emissaries, but hasn't been confirmed by international groups monitoring the situation.
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Hostages said to be safe while negotiations continue
Reuters Aug 10, 07 5:01 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A South Korean team began face-to-face negotiations with the Taliban today, hoping to secure the lives of 21 Korean aid workers abducted last month. The meeting is taking place in an Afghan government-controlled zone where the Taliban has been guaranteed temporary safe passage. Seoul has already cautioned that it doesn't have the power to release any Taliban prisoners, Reuters reports.
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