Taliban frees 12 South Korean hostages

All to be released
The insurgents have said they will free all the hostages, who were holding in different locations, in the next few days.

The Taliban originally kidnapped 23 hostages as they traveled by bus from Kabul to the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar on July 19. In late July, the militants killed two male hostages, and they released two women earlier this month.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, welcomed the news of a deal and called for all the hostages to be freed quickly.

He said he used “all possible efforts” as secretary-general to help obtain the release of the hostages, talking to leaders in Afghanistan and the region who might have influence.

“I welcome that news that both the Korean government and Taliban representatives have agreed to release the remaining 19 hostages,” he said.

Abductions a key tactic
The Tuesday deal was made in face-to-face talks between Taliban negotiators and South Korean diplomats in the central Afghan city of Ghazni. The Afghan government was not party to the negotiations, which were facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The South Korean government and relatives of the hostages have stressed the South Koreans kidnapped in Afghanistan were not missionaries, but were doing aid work such as helping in hospitals.

The Taliban had been demanding the release of militant prisoners in exchange for freeing the hostages. Afghan officials had ruled out any exchange, saying such a move would only encourage further abductions.

Abductions have become a key insurgent tactic in recent months in trying to destabilize the country, targeting both Afghan officials and foreigners helping with reconstruction. A German engineer and four Afghan colleagues kidnapped a day before the South Koreans are still being held.

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