Taliban stop bus and kidnap Koreans

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Taliban stop bus and kidnap Koreans
Thu Jul 19, 2007 11:39PM EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents stopped a bus in
Afghanistan and kidnapped some of the passengers,
including Korean citizens, a local police chief said on
Friday.

The bus was traveling from the southern city of
Kandahar to the capital Kabul on Thursday when
Taliban rebels stopped it in the Qarabagh district of
Ghazni province, the local police chief Khowaja
Mohammad Sadeeq told Reuters.

It was not immediately clear how many passengers had
been abducted. Local Taliban commander Mohammad
Sharif took responsibility.

-snip-

Two Germans and six Afghans were abducted southwest
of Kabul on Wednesday and are still missing.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSISL13294820070720

[napi21]

1. What were Koreans doing in Afghan? What will Kim Jung Il do about this?

Kim isn't a guy who takes kindly to people...any people...picking on him or his Country. I would think he won't be a happy camper about these nuts kidnapping his citizens either!

[Bacchus39]

2. South Koreans I postulate

and not Kim Jung's Ilk.

[napi21]

3. 'm sorry. The article didn't say North or South. Iguess I jumped

the gun in assuming when I heard Korea it was related to Kim.

How did you know it was SK?

[Bacchus39]

5. you are right the article does not specify, but that's my guess

nonetheless.

[entanglement]

6. 'Regular' North Koreans are HIGHLY unlikely to travel outside their own country

It is a totalitarian state, their government regulates the movement of people very tightly. Escape from North Korea is hard. Not to mention that most of the people barely have enough money to eat, let alone travel. North Korea interacts very little with the rest of the world (only at the diplomatic levels)

So 'Korea' or 'Korean' in news articles usually refers to South Korea - you'll usually see "North Korea" used explicitly when needed. The two countries are as different as chalk and cheese.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. You're correct

South Koreans kidnapped by armed insurgents

DATELINE:SEOUL, July 20, 2007 (AFP) - About 20 South Koreans are believed to have been kidnapped by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, an official said 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 foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Considering a variety of circumstantial evidence, chances are high that the report is true."

A provincial governor in Afghanistan confirmed the kidnappings, telling AFP that they were seized while travelling (sic) on a bus in the south of the country.

Yonhap news agency said the South Koreans were young Christian evangelists.

http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/news/world/20070720-south-korea-afghanistan-kidnap-hostages.html

Afghanistan has had issues before with Korean evangelicals. Back in 2006 President Hamid Karzai ordered all the Korean evangelist out of the country. IIRC they were sponsoring a peach march at the time.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[slowry]

8. Excuse me? n/t

[Eugene]

9. About 20 South Koreans feared kidnapped in Afghanistan

Source: Reuters

About 20 South Koreans feared kidnapped in Afghanistan

Fri Jul 20, 2:23 AM ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - About 20 South Korean Christian volunteers
are feared to have been kidnapped in Afghanistan by Taliban
insurgents, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said on
Friday.

The ministry was still trying to confirm the kidnap report.


Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070720/wl_nm/afghan_kidnap_koreans_dc_1

---

Source: Reuters

Taliban kidnap 23 Koreans from Afghan bus: official
Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:50AM EDT

By Hamid Shalizi

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents have kidnapped 23
Korean Christians from a bus in Afghanistan, officials said on
Friday, the biggest group of foreigners seized so far in the
militant campaign to oust the government and its Western
backers.

-snip-

"Twenty-three Korean citizens, 15 women and five men,
were very carelessly traveling in a chartered bus from
Kabul to Kandahar yesterday, on the way to Kandahar their
bus was stopped by armed men ... and they took them
away," said Interior Minister spokesman Zemari Bashari.

-snip-

The Taliban said they had seized 18 Koreans, 15 men and
three women.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSISL13294820070720