Afghanistan

SEOUL (AFP) – Some of the South Korean Christian aid workers held hostage by Afghanistan’s Taliban said they were beaten for refusing to convert to Islam and protecting female captives, a hospital chief said Monday.We found through medical checks that some male hostages were beaten,” Cha Seung-Gyun told reporters after …

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) – Military forces fought major battles with Taliban just outside Kandahar city that Afghan police said killed more than 120 rebels, although the US military issued a much lower toll.Afghan and international soldiers raided what they said was a Taliban headquarters in an operation that started late …

SEOUL (AFP) – The South Koreans who were held hostage for six weeks by Afghanistan’s Taliban have no serious health problems, a hospital official said Monday. The 19 Christian aid workers arrived home Sunday after Seoul government negotiators reached a deal for their release, and were taken to Sam Anyang …

Breakfast is being prepared at the Abdul Hamid Hotel. The proprietor, Abdul Hamid, is rushing around with his helpers preparing a meal of unleavened Afghan bread and a thick white butter, and omelettes. This is a popular breakfast stop, about two hours up from Bamiyan town into the hills on …

LONDON (AFP) – Britain’s battle against the drugs trade in southern Afghanistan has been a total failure, the troubled country’s vice-president said Sunday.The drugs eradication policy is simply too soft and it is time to get tough, Ahmad Zia Massoud wrote in the British weekly newspaper The Sunday Telegraph. Poppy …

SEOUL (AFP) – Nineteen South Korean former hostages who spent six weeks under threat of death from Afghanistan’s Taliban arrived home Sunday, saying they felt as if they had died and then got their lives back.The former captives had tearful reunions with their families at a hospital outside Seoul before …

INCHEON, South Korea – Nineteen South Koreans freed by Taliban insurgents after six weeks in captivity returned home to tearful embraces from loved ones Sunday, expressing sorrow for two in their group who were killed in Afghanistan and apologizing to the nation.The former hostages, let go in stages last week …

KABUL (AFP) – Ground fighting and air strikes killed almost two dozen insurgents near a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan that has seen days of heavy fighting, the US-led counter terrorism force said Saturday.Attack aircraft were called in after insurgents ambushed patrolling Afghan police and international troops in the southern …

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s relief at the release of 19 countrymen held hostage by the Taliban gave way Friday to anger at the victims themselves, members of a Christian church who are being criticized for ignoring warnings against travel to Afghanistan.Critics said the group’s actions forced their government …

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, …