An Indonesian Muslim leader Wednesday called on the Taliban to free 21 South Korean hostages and condemned the kidnapping as an affront to Islam.

"I called on the Taliban to unconditionally release the South Korean citizens still in captivity," said Din Syamsuddin, chairman of the country's second largest Muslim group Muhammadiyah.

Kidnapping and taking innocent people as hostages will only harm Islam, "neither are they part of Islamic teachings," he said.

He made the remarks after a meeting with South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Sun-Jin here.

Source: Xinhua