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Taleban 'kill' S Korean hostage Taleban 'kill S Korean hostage'
(about 2 hours later)
A Taleban spokesman in Afghanistan says the group has killed one of 23 South Korean hostages it is holding. The Taleban have killed one of the 23 South Korean hostages they abducted in Afghanistan, government officials say.
The spokesman said the male captive was shot dead because the Afghan authorities had refused to release imprisoned Taleban fighters. The death was confirmed by a district official in Ghazni province, who said the man who was shot was apparently too ill to walk.
A BBC correspondent in Kabul says there has been no confirmation of the claim. The official, Khowja Seddiqi, told the BBC he could not confirm reports that eight of the Koreans had been freed.
Meanwhile, a German journalist and his Afghan translator have been released a day after their capture in eastern Afghanistan, officials say. Meanwhile, it has emerged that an abducted journalist freed on Wednesday is Danish, not German as reported.
Taleban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told Reuters news agency on Wednesday: "Since Kabul's administration did not listen to our demand and did not free our prisoners, the Taleban shot dead a male Korean hostage." The journalist, named Khwaja Najibullah, is of Afghan origin, and worked for Danish television. He was freed along with his Afghan driver and translator.
The 23 Koreans were abducted in Ghazni, south-west of Kabul, on Thursday. Speaking after his release, Mr Najibullah said his abductors had released him after pressure from local people.
The hostages - most of them women - are members of a Christian aid group. 'Did not listen'
In a separate development, the release of a German journalist and his Afghan translator and driver was secured through talks with tribal elders. Mr Seddiqi, who is head of Qarabagh district in Ghazni province, said the killing of the South Korean man had not been because of a failure in negotiations, or because Taleban demands had not been met.
No ransom was paid, said the governor of Kunar province, Shalizai Didar. Earlier, Taleban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi announced the killing but gave a different version of events.
The governor said he had spoken to the freed men by phone and that they were in good health. He told Reuters news agency: "Since Kabul's administration did not listen to our demand and did not free our prisoners, the Taleban shot dead a male Korean hostage."
A senior security official in Kunar told the BBC that the German journalist had disappeared when visiting the village of Sangar in Wattapour district. The spokesman repeated Taleban demands that eight of its jailed fighters be released, or more hostages would be killed.
Two other Germans were kidnapped in central Afghanistan last week. The body of one was later found by a road. The 23 Koreans were abducted in Ghazni, south-west of Kabul, on Thursday. The hostages - most of them women - are members of a Christian aid group.
In addition to the South Koreans, two Germans were kidnapped in central Afghanistan last week. The body of one was later found by a road.