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Taleban 'kill S Korean hostage' | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The Taleban have killed one of the 23 South Korean hostages they abducted in Afghanistan, government officials say. | |
The death was confirmed by a district official in Ghazni province, who said the man who was shot was apparently too ill to walk. | |
The official, Khowja Seddiqi, told the BBC he could not confirm reports that eight of the Koreans had been freed. | |
Meanwhile, it has emerged that an abducted journalist freed on Wednesday is Danish, not German as reported. | |
The journalist, named Khwaja Najibullah, is of Afghan origin, and worked for Danish television. He was freed along with his Afghan driver and translator. | |
Speaking after his release, Mr Najibullah said his abductors had released him after pressure from local people. | |
'Did not listen' | |
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. | |
Earlier, Taleban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi announced the killing but gave a different version of events. | |
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." | |
The spokesman repeated Taleban demands that eight of its jailed fighters be released, or more hostages would be killed. | |
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. |