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Confusion over two seized Germans Envoys start Afghan hostage talks
(10 minutes later)
Germany's foreign minister has backed Afghan government reports that one of two Germans held by the Taleban died of natural causes and was not shot. A team of hostage negotiators has arrived in Afghanistan from Seoul amid confusion over the fate of abducted South Koreans and Germans.
A Taleban spokesman had said the two Germans had been killed but both Afghan and German officials believe one of the hostages is still alive. The Taleban say they are holding 23 South Koreans and want a swap for jailed fighters, but have also said South Korean forces should leave.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said all efforts must be made to save the remaining hostage. A Taleban spokesman said two captured Germans had been shot dead on Saturday.
The Taleban says it is also holding 23 hostages from South Korea. But Berlin and Kabul believe one hostage died of natural causes and the other is still alive.
Five Afghans were also captured with the Germans and the Taleban have given conflicting reports on their fate.
Tribal elders
The South Korean delegation arrived in Kabul on Sunday, a spokeswoman at the embassy in the Afghan capital told the BBC.
The eight-strong team, including a presidential envoy, will meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other officials.
A South Korean diplomat is already in Ghazni province, where the Koreans were abducted from a bus travelling from Kandahar to Kabul on Thursday.
We must assume that one of the kidnapped Germans died in captivity Frank-Walter Steinmeier,German foreign minister
A council of tribal elders is said to be trying to negotiate the hostages' release.
The Taleban initially said there were 18 but have revised up the figure to 23. They were reportedly Christians on an evangelical and aid mission. At least 15 are said to be women.
The seizure is the largest-scale abduction of foreigners since the fall of the Taleban regime in 2001.
A Taleban spokesman who talked to the BBC said in exchange for the South Koreans' safety his group wanted prisoners released and for the 200 Korean troops to leave Afghanistan but he did not give an ultimatum or talk about the number of prisoners.
Other reports spoke of a deadline of Sunday at 1900 (1430 GMT) for the Taleban's demands to be met.
Seoul confirmed on Sunday that preparations for its troops to withdraw by the end of the year were under way but that the withdrawal had already been announced and had not been affected by the abductions.
President Roh Moo-hyun appeared on South Korean television on Saturday to urge the release of the citizens held captive.
Relatives of the abductees gathered at churches on Sunday to pray for their release.
Conflicting messagesConflicting messages
Mr Steinmeier said it appeared the German civilian had died from the strain of the kidnapping. Afghan officials said it was probably a heart attack. Meanwhile, Germany's foreign minister has backed Afghan government reports that one of the two Germans held by the Taleban died of natural causes and was not shot.
All signs tell us that he fell victim to the strain to which his kidnappers subjected him Frank-Walter Steinmeier The Germans, whose identity has not been revealed, were seized on Wednesday with a number of Afghans in Wardak province where they had been working on a dam project.
A Taleban spokesman had said both men had been killed because Germany refused to withdraw its 3,000-strong force. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said all efforts must be made to save the remaining hostage.
Mr Steinmeier said there had been a lot of conflicting reports about the fate of the two German hostages seized on Wednesday. A Taleban spokesman had said both men were killed because Germany refused to withdraw its 3,000-strong force.
"We must assume that one of the kidnapped Germans died in captivity," the minister told reporters in Berlin. Mr Steinmeier said: "We must assume that one of the kidnapped Germans died in captivity.
"Nothing points to murder, all signs tell us that he fell victim to the strain to which his kidnappers subjected him. "Nothing points to murder, all signs tell us that he fell victim to the strain to which his kidnappers subjected him."
"This does not make his death any less tragic, on the contrary, it is the loss of a life that was committed to the reconstruction of Afghanistan," the minister said.
Taleban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi had said that the first hostage was killed at 1205 local time (0735 GMT) on Saturday and shortly afterwards that the second German had also been killed.
If confirmed, the killings would be the first of foreign hostages since the death of an Indian engineer in April last year.If confirmed, the killings would be the first of foreign hostages since the death of an Indian engineer in April last year.
Local police said the Germans, whose identity has not been revealed, were seized with a number of Afghans in Wardak province where they had been working on a dam project. The rebels have given conflicting messages on the fate of the Afghans captured with the Germans, the BBC's Charles Haviland in Kabul says.
The rebels have given conflicting messages on the fate of the Afghans, the BBC's Charles Haviland in Kabul says.
A Taleban website said they were dead, but another purported rebel spokesman said they were alive, our correspondent says.A Taleban website said they were dead, but another purported rebel spokesman said they were alive, our correspondent says.
He adds that such conflicting accounts suggest that the rebels may be divide as to what to do with those they are holding.He adds that such conflicting accounts suggest that the rebels may be divide as to what to do with those they are holding.
A Taleban spokesman told the BBC that in exchange for the safety of the South Koreans the insurgents wanted prisoners released and the 200 South Korean troops to leave Afghanistan.