About 20 S. Koreans kidnapped in Afghanistan
20/7/2007 17:03
About 20 young South Koreans in Afghanistan are feared to have been
kidnapped by Taliban insurgents, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said
today.
"We obtained an intelligence report that the South Koreans were
abducted by Taliban insurgents this morning and are now trying to confirm it
through various channels," the ministry said in a statement.
"Considering a
variety of circumstantial evidence, chances are high that the report is true,"
the ministry noted.
The report indicated that Taliban forces based in the
Pakistani city of Peshawar are planning to seize South Koreans traveling from
the Afghan border town of Torkham to the capital Kabul, the ministry said,
adding that the reason they picked South Koreans as their target is believed to
be because South Koreans often travel by land with the least security
measures.
Several South Korean civic activists are working in the war- torn
country, and South Korea has stationed a 200-strong military contingent there
since early 2002 for peacekeeping efforts.
Around 1,200 South Korean
Christians including hundreds of children arrived in Afghanistan last
summer.
Xinhua
|
