Taliban kidnappers claim they shot dead another South Korean hostage on Monday, as the Afghan government missed the second deadline to release rebel prisoners.
The Taliban have threatened to kill more hostages if Kabul keeps ignoring their demands for the release of 23 militant prisoners and withdrawal of South Korean troops from Afghanistan. No new deadline has been set. Twenty three Koreans, 18 of them women, were captured on July 19 when travelling in Ghazni province. The first male hostage was killed last Wednesday when the earlier deadline for their release expired. The Taliban has ruled out further talks. An Afghan official earlier said force might be used to rescue the hostages if talks failed.