KABUL (Reuters) – Nineteen newly-freed South Korean hostages flew out of the Afghan capital on Friday after a six-week kidnap drama following a deal with Taliban insurgents critics fear could spur more abductions.The South Korean Christian volunteers, part of a group of 23 missionaries kidnapped in southeast Afghanistan in mid-July, …

KABUL, Afghanistan – Newly freed South Korean church workers apologized to their government Friday for causing trouble in Afghanistan by being kidnapped by the Taliban for six weeks.Some fell to the ground in shock when they were told that two members of their group had been killed by their captors, …

SEOUL (AFP) – South Korea began to count the diplomatic and human cost Thursday of a six-week hostage ordeal as it awaited the release of the last seven aid workers kidnapped by Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents.The church that sent the Christian volunteers on a bus trip across war-torn southern Afghanistan said …

GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AFP) – The Taliban freed 12 of their 19 South Korean captives on Wednesday as the wrenching six-week hostage crisis in Afghanistan neared resolution.The Islamic extremist movement handed over 10 women and two men to tribal elders in three separate releases several hours apart outside the central town …

GHAZNI, Afghanistan – Taliban militants agreed Tuesday to release 19 South Korean church volunteers held hostage for six weeks after Seoul reaffirmed a pledge to withdraw its troops by year’s end and prevent Christian missionaries from working in Afghanistan.The militants apparently backed away from demands for a prisoner exchange. But …

KABUL (Reuters) – More than 100 suspected insurgents were killed in a battle with U.S.-led troops in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.The battle erupted after a convoy of Afghan and U.S. coalition forces came under attack in Shah Wali Kot district in Kandahar province, it said in …

KABUL, Afghanistan – Fighting between NATO troops and Taliban fighters killed eight soldiers — including six Westerners — in eastern and southern Afghanistan, where insurgent attacks are running at their highest level since the U.S. invasion, officials said Monday. Reports from officials Monday and Tuesday indicated 29 militants also were …

WANA, Pakistan (AFP) – Pro-Taliban militants on Tuesday released 19 Pakistani soldiers who were abducted earlier this month in the rugged tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, officials said.Armed militants kidnapped 16 Pakistani soldiers from the South Waziristan tribal district on August 9 and seized another four security officials including a colonel …

KABUL (AFP) – Afghanistan’s opium production has doubled in two years, reaching a new high in 2007, with the country almost the exclusive supplier of the world’s deadliest drug, the United Nations announced Monday. Production was estimated to have jumped 34 percent this year over last with the number of …

KABUL, Afghanistan – Fighting between NATO troops and Taliban fighters killed eight soldiers — including six Westerners — and 10 militants in eastern and southern Afghanistan, where insurgent attacks are running at their highest level since the U.S. invasion, officials said Monday.French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was adding 150 …