Taliban Deadline for Hostages Passes

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

Taliban deadline for hostages passes
By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
12 minutes ago

KABUL, Afghanistan - A purported Taliban deadline for the lives of 22 South Korean hostages passed with no word on the captives' fate Monday, and an Afghan governor pleaded with the militants to give negotiations more time.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, said midday Monday was the militants' latest deadline to kill one or more of the hostages if 23 Taliban prisoners weren't released from Afghan jails. But that marker passed with no word from Taliban or government representatives. Several purported deadlines passed last week with no consequences, though on Wednesday the militants shot to death one captive several hours after a deadline passed.

Marajudin Pathan, the governor of Ghazni province, where the South Koreans were abducted on July 19, said that authorities talked to the Taliban on Sunday after they set the latest deadline and asked for two more days of talks. "Fortunately, they did not reject our demand outright, but said that they need to talk to their leaders," Pathan said.

Because of the previous deadlines, it wasn't clear how seriously the militants would treat their latest ultimatum for the 22 remaining South Koreans.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070730/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan

[Eugene]

1. Taliban extend hostage deadline - spokesman

Source: Reuters

Taliban extend hostage deadline - spokesman
30 Jul 2007 11:18:00 GMT
Source: Reuters

-snip-

By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL, July 30 (Reuters) - The Taliban extended its deadline
to 1130 GMT for 22 South Korean hostages they are threatening
to kill after an appeal by Afghan negotiators, a Taliban
spokesman said, adding all of the remaining captives were alive.

"Because of the team's requests ... the Taliban have extended
the deadline to 16:00 local time," Qari Mohammad Yousuf told
Reuters by phone from an undisclosed location.

The Taliban had earlier set a 0730 GMT "final deadline", after
which they said they would kill the 22 Koreans -- mostly women
-- unless the Afghan government freed jailed rebels.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL236775.htm

[MrPrax]

2. Small detail missing from most

of the reports I keep reading...

South Koreans question Afghan aid mission

The Christian Science Monitor

"...The missionaries were warned by the Korean government that it was too dangerous to go to Afghanistan and preach about the Christian God," said Kim Hyoung Jin, a university student in Seoul. "They knew they were taking a risk, even though they knew they were doing a wonderful job, and they knew that something was going to happen."

....

"Some Korean Christians think it's a good thing to go to Afghanistan and die trying to proselytize on behalf of their religion," said Chang, a regular churchgoer in a country that is one-third Christian. "But many are critical."

With nearly 17,000 missionaries in 173 nations, South Korea is second only to the United States in the number of Christians sent abroad. In 2004, eight South Korean missionaries were kidnapped (and later released) in Iraq. Later that year, a man who had gone to Iraq to do missionary work was beheaded. That killing prompted sympathy in Korea. But some South Koreans are reacting more critically this time.

....

The congregation that sent the group to Afghanistan now is recalling an additional 42 members on missions there and says it will not attempt to send more. Seoul, meanwhile, is sending a special envoy to Afghanistan to try to sort out demands for the hostages' release, including money, the release of Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government, and the withdrawal of 210 South Korean troops before the year's end.

Seattle Times

...more missionaries than troops...?