AFGHANISTAN: U.S. troops conduct security checks in Afghanistan's Ghazni province where South Korean hostages are being kept

U.S. troops conduct searches in Ghazni province where Taliban insurgents are believed to be holding 22 South Korean hostages. U.S. troops have conducted searches in the Karabagh district of the Ghazni province where the Taliban is believed to be holding South Korean hostages, Afghan residents said on Thursday (July 26). Footage showed U.S. soldiers stopping and questioning residents and searching vehicles in the area. South Korea sent a senior envoy to Afghanistan on Thursday to step up efforts to free 22 Christian volunteers held hostage by the Taliban after rebels killed the leader of the church group. A Taliban spokesman said the remaining hostages were unharmed, despite the passing of a deadline overnight. Residents of the Ghazni province said they hoped the hostages would be released. "The killing of the foreign guest in Afghanistan is an unlawful action. These foreigners came here to help the Afghans, they must be released," said one young Ghazni resident. Seoul despatched its chief presidential national security advisor, Baek Jong-chun, to boost coordination with the Afghan government in negotiations to free the Koreans. He is expected to arrive in Afghanistan on Friday (July 27) which could mean the Taliban may wait till at least then to see what offer, if any, he brings. The hostages, including 18 women, were abducted from a bus in Ghazni province last week. Ghazni's governor Mirajuddin Pathan urged the Taliban to at least free the women. He said the Taliban had given the Afghan government a list of prisoners they wanted freed as part of an exchange, but he could not say if the central government would release them or not. The Taliban had given the Afghan government until 2030 GMT on Wednesday to agree to exchange the group for imprisoned rebels, but the deadline passed without word from the kidnappers until Yousuf spoke on Thursday morning. The fate of the 22 Christian volunteers had hung in the balance overnight, after the rebels killed one hostage and dumped his bullet-ridden body near where the group were seized last week.

ITN Source | July 26, 2007

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