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Taleban 'kill captured Germans' Taleban 'kill captured Germans'
(20 minutes later)
Two Germans kidnapped near Kabul in Afghanistan this week have been killed, a spokesman for the Taleban has said.Two Germans kidnapped near Kabul in Afghanistan this week have been killed, a spokesman for the Taleban has said.
Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said one hostage was shot at 1205 local time (0735 GMT) and the other an hour later as no German troop pullout had been announced.Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said one hostage was shot at 1205 local time (0735 GMT) and the other an hour later as no German troop pullout had been announced.
Afghan and German officials say they have no confirmation of the killings and are seeking evidence.Afghan and German officials say they have no confirmation of the killings and are seeking evidence.
The Taleban has also threatened to kill at least 18 hostages from South Korea, captured separately on Thursday.The Taleban has also threatened to kill at least 18 hostages from South Korea, captured separately on Thursday.
Police in Afghanistan said the Germans were seized on Wednesday in Wardak province where they had been working. Deadlines pass
German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said on Thursday a crisis team had been set up in Berlin and at the embassy in Kabul to find the pair. Police in Afghanistan said the Germans, whose identity has not been revealed, were seized on Wednesday in Wardak province where they had been working on a dam project.
Germany has about 3,000 troops in Afghanistan. German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said Berlin was taking the statements "very seriously" but had so far had no independent confirmation "that a hostage was murdered in Afghanistan".
President Roh Moo-hyun urged the release of the South Koreans
Germany has about 3,000 troops in the country.
Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the hostages were killed because the Afghan and German governments had not made contact to enter negotiations.
He said two deadlines had been set on Saturday but both had passed.
The fate of the South Koreans had not been decided, the spokesman said.
The Taleban wants South Korea's 200 troops to leave the country.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun appeared on television on Saturday to say his government was making every effort to secure the safe return of his country's citizens.South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun appeared on television on Saturday to say his government was making every effort to secure the safe return of his country's citizens.
South Korea already plans to withdraw its troops by the end of the year.
The Koreans were taken at gunpoint while travelling in a bus from Kandahar city to the capital, Kabul, on Thursday.
They were reportedly Christians on an evangelical and aid mission. At least 15 are said to be women.
The seizure was the largest-scale abduction of foreigners since the fall of the Taleban regime in 2001, according to the Associated Press.