国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

   

Body of South Korean hostage returns

(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-08-02 15:02

The body of a second South Korean hostage shot dead by Taliban militants in Afghanistan is expected to arrive home on Thursday, while lawmakers left for the United States to persuade Washington to help end the standoff.

The remaining 21 South Korean hostages who have been held for two weeks are still alive, the Taliban said on Wednesday, while the army warned villagers to evacuate areas near where the insurgents are thought to be holding them.

The Taliban have shot dead two male hostages and threatened to kill more if their demands to trade the Koreans for jailed insurgents are not met.

The body Shim Sung-min, 29, a volunteer for charity groups, will arrive by air transport. His family said it would hold a funeral and then donate his remains for medical research.

Eight lawmakers hope to speak to US and UN officials "to appeal for the quick and safe return of our people in Afghanistan", they said in a statement.

Of the 21 hostages, 18 are women.

The South Korean government is under intense pressure to bring the captives home but concedes it has few cards to play. The government has called for "flexibility", a comment analysts say is directed at the United States to sway the Afghan government to strike a deal with the kidnappers.

The United States has said it does not make concessions to terrorists. But lawmakers are hoping Washington might make an exception to help bail out an ally which has sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.

South Korea's two largest conservative dailies said visits of this sort might stir anti-U.S. sentiment if the ordeal deteriorates even further and could hurt negotiations on freeing the hostages.

"Anti-American sentiments by some elements are only helping the Taliban and justifying their atrocities," the Chosun Ilbo, the country's largest newspaper, said in Thursday's editorial.

The Afghan government has refused to give in to demands to free Taliban prisoners, saying that would only encourage further abductions.

The 23 South Koreans were sent by a Christian church in suburban Seoul to do relief work in Afghanistan, even though their government warned them not to go because of safety concerns.

They were snatched from a bus on the main road south from the capital Kabul travelling through Ghazni province.

The first victim was the leader of the group, Bae Hyung-kyu, a pastor who was shot dead last week on the day he turned 42.



Top World News  
Today's Top News  
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
老河口市| 宜章县| 奉节县| 蕉岭县| 南召县| 寿宁县| 无极县| 绵阳市| 射阳县| 聂拉木县| 甘肃省| 东阿县| 巨鹿县| 南部县| 穆棱市| 康定县| 呼伦贝尔市| 平利县| 上栗县| 芦山县| 晋中市| 焦作市| 纳雍县| 泊头市| 峡江县| 大姚县| 永年县| 张家港市| 乐至县| 鄯善县| 集贤县| 辰溪县| 千阳县| 丰镇市| 六安市| 屏山县| 昂仁县| 台南市| 香港| 临安市| 乐业县|