Hostages executed

last updated 8 January 2015

Ghazni, Afghanistan

The Taliban this week killed two of the 23 South Korean church workers it took hostage two weeks ago. It has threatened to kill others unless the Afghan government releases a group of Taliban prisoners. Eighteen of the hostages are women; so far the Taliban has killed only men. Afghan President Hamid Karzai tried to shame the Taliban into releasing the women. “Hostage-taking and abuse of foreign guests, especially women, is against Islam and the Afghan culture,” Karzai said. “The perpetration of this heinous act on our soil is in total contempt of our Islamic and Afghan values.”