Korean hostages alive, Afghans warn of operation

By Yousuf Azimy

GHAZNI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The remaining South Korean hostages held in Afghanistan 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.

Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said all 21 hostages were alive despite the expiry of a deadline after which he had warned the kidnappers would start killing the captives unless the Afghan government freed jailed insurgents.

"Yes, they are alive," Yousuf told Reuters by telephone from an unknown location. "But the danger (of killing) them remains. It is possible that they will be killed," he said, without giving a time frame.

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

Twenty-three South Korean church volunteers were snatched from a bus on the main road south from the capital Kabul as it traveled through Ghazni province last month.

Two male Koreans have since been killed by the kidnappers after their demands were ignored.

The Defence Ministry said army helicopters had dropped leaflets in several districts of Ghazni province warning residents to move to secure areas to avoid civilian casualties during an operation to be launched in the "coming weeks".

But the ministry said it was a routine operation not linked with the kidnapping. Both Afghan and foreign troops were stationed in the area, a local official said.

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Any rescue operation would be fraught with danger as the Taliban have split the hostages into small groups and are holding them in several locations in the mainly flat but lush region.

The Taliban spokesman again warned that any rescue bid would jeopardize the lives of the South Koreans, 18 of them women. He said Taliban fighters had not detected any rescue operation, but had seen increased troop movements in the area.

"No military operation has yet begun," said Yousuf. "But our mujahideen have been noticing provocations since yesterday."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was criticized in March after releasing a group of Taliban prisoners in return for the freedom of an Italian journalist. He later said he would not make any hostage deals with the Taliban again.

The hostages' desperate relatives, keeping an agonizing vigil in Seoul, appealed to the U.S. government to intervene. South Korean lawmakers also made a joint appeal to Washington to act.

The group was sent by a Christian church in Seoul to do relief work in Afghanistan.