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Afghan, coalition forces cordon off area to rescue S. Korean hostages |
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07:57, July 23, 2007 |
Afghan and the U.S.-led coalition forces have cordoned off a suspected Taliban hideout to secure the release of 23 South Korean hostages, a statement issued by Afghan Defense Ministry said Sunday.
Afghan security forces and coalition troops have taken positions around an area in Qarabagh district of the central Ghazni province and are waiting for orders to storm the Taliban hideout, the statement said..
Meantime, a purported Taliban spokesman Yusouf Ahmadi said militants would execute all the 23 hostages if the troops recklessly carry out a storm.
A South Korean team led by a vice foreign minister arrived in Kabul on Sunday to facilitate the release of the hostages.
The 23 South Koreans were kidnapped by Taliban militants on a road in Ghazni province Thursday afternoon.
Taliban fighters have threatened to kill all the hostages if Afghan authorities fail to release 23 Taliban prisoners before 7: 00 p.m. (1430 GMT) on Sunday.
The Taliban also demanded the withdrawal of 200 South Korean troops from this country, while the South Korean government said the soldiers would be pulled out at the end of 2007 as scheduled.
Taliban militants have carried out kidnappings in this country over the past two years frequently, and some hostages were killed brutally by the Taliban.
Source: Xinhua
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