About 20 young South Koreans in Afghanistan are feared to have been kidnapped by Taliban insurgents, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
"We obtained an intelligence report that the South Koreans were abducted by Taliban insurgents this morning and are now trying to confirm it through various channels," the ministry said in a statement.
"Considering a variety of circumstantial evidence, chances are high that the report is true," the ministry noted.
The report indicated that Taliban forces based in the Pakistani city of Peshawar are planning to seize South Koreans traveling from the Afghan border town of Torkham to the capital Kabul, the ministry said, adding that the reason they picked South Koreans as their target is believed to be because South Koreans often travel by land with the least security measures.
Several South Korean civic activists are working in the war- torn country, and South Korea has stationed a 200-strong military contingent there since early 2002 for peacekeeping efforts.
Around 1,200 South Korean Christians including hundreds of children arrived in Afghanistan last summer.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article