Taliban Says 2 Koreans to Be Freed

Two sick female South Koreans among 21 taken hostage by Taliban militants in Afghanistan will be freed 24 days after they were abducted on July 19, according to unconfirmed reports.

Mullah Sabir Nasir, the senior Taliban commander in Ghazni Province, said on the telephone with Aminullah Kan (pseudonym), a correspondent of this newspaper on August 12, “Two sick female hostages will be released this afternoon.”

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a purported Taliban spokesman, said to the AP and DPA, “The two South Korean hostages will be released in part because our leaders were happy with the progress being made in face-to-face talks with South Korean negotiators. It is possible we will release the two today [on August 12].”

Yonhap News Agency quoted an official of the Afghan Red Crescent Society of Ghazni Province as saying, “It is more than 70 percent likely that the two will be set free today at 3:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. in Korea).”

The identity of the two has not been released.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, the Taliban spokesman, had said on August 11, “The Taliban leadership council freed sick female captives in a gesture of goodwill with no conditions attached,” but then he changed this words in the morning of August 12, saying, “All Korean hostages are still in our hands,” causing confusion.

The Yonhap News Agency reported quoting an anonymous source that the Taliban and Korean delegations resumed discussion for the third day at the office of the Afghan Red Crescent Society of Ghazni Province at 10:00 a.m. on August 12.

During the negotiations, the two parties discussed the procedure of handing over custody of the two females and the fate of the rest of the Korean hostages.

Four Korean delegates and two Taliban representatives had negotiations in the afternoon on August 10 and in the morning of August 11. The Taliban demanded the freeing of Taliban prisoners in return for the release of the rest of the 19 captives.

Meanwhile, the International Red Cross stated in a press release, “All the related parties to the Korean hostage crisis, including insurgents in Afghanistan, agreed on the negotiations and guaranteed safety,” suggesting the U.S. was involved in the face-to-face negotiations between the Korean and the Taliban.

Mainichi, a Japanese newspaper reported that a U.S. military official attended the first negotiation session held on August 10.

The newspaper also reported quoting a high-ranking official of Ghazni Province that the Taliban demanded three or four Taliban prisoners held at America’s Bagram Air Force Base be freed.

ecolee@donga.com