Afghan Leaders: Free Female Hostages

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

By JASON STRAZIUSO

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghanistan's top political and religious leaders invoked Afghan and Islamic traditions of chivalry and hospitality Sunday in attempts to shame the Taliban into releasing 18 female South Korean captives.

A purported Taliban spokesman shrugged off the demands and instead set a new deadline for the hostages' lives, saying the hardline militants could kill one or all of the 22 captives if the government didn't release 23 militant prisoners by 3:30 a.m. EDT Monday. Several other deadlines have passed without killings.


South Korean Christians pray during a service demanding the safe return of South Koreans kidnapped in Afghanistan at a church in Seoul, Sunday, July 29, 2007. The family of a South Korean pastor killed in Afghanistan asked Saturday for a delay in the repatriation of his body, saying they want it flown home only when 22 other hostages are released from Taliban captivity. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)


Afghan officials, meanwhile, reported no progress in talks with tribal elders to secure hostages' freedom.

In his first comments since 23 Koreans were abducted on July 19, Karzai criticized the Taliban's kidnapping of "foreign guests," especially women, as contrary to the tenets of Islam and national traditions.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070729/D8QMEEU80.html