Taliban fighters have executed two German hostages on Saturday
in Afghanistan, a purported Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told
Xinhua.
The first hostage was shot dead in the central Ghazni province
as the Taliban demands were not met just after the deadline of 12:
00 PM (07:30 GMT) expired, Ahmadi said from an undisclosed place by
telephone.
The second hostage was killed about one hour later, he said.
The German government said on Saturday that it cannot confirm
Taliban's claim that they have executed German hostages in
Afghanistan.
"We take the claim very serious and are looking into all clues.
So far we still have no independent confirmation," said German
foreign ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger.
The Taliban has demanded German troops should be withdrawn from
this country and Taliban prisoners released by Afghan authorities
before the deadline.
The two hostages were abducted together with five Afghans in the
central Wardak province on Wednesday.
Ahmadi did not mention the conditions of at least 18 other South
Korean hostages, who were kidnapped by Taliban militants in Ghazni
province on Thursday afternoon.
The Taliban has also demanded the withdrawal of the 200 South
Korean troops from this country, while the South Korean government
said the soldiers would be pulled out at the end of 2007 as
scheduled.
Taliban militants have carried out kidnappings in this country
over the past two years frequently, and some hostages were killed
by the Taliban brutally.
(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2007)
