Taliban – News Stories About Taliban - Page 57

Sep 12, 2007 5:46 PM CDT

Taliban Told Hostages to Convert or Die

Freed Koreans describe harrowing 6-week Afghanistan ordeal

(Newser) - South Korean aid workers held captive by Taliban militants in Afghanistan recounted being urged at gunpoint to convert to Islam during at a news conference in Seoul today, the BBC reports. They were often beaten and forced to work "like slaves" during a six-week ordeal, which ended last month...

Osama May Release Tape on 9/11

Sep 6, 2007 7:03 PM CDT

Osama May Release Tape on 9/11

Signs point to new message from terror leader, group says

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden, architect of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will release a video to commemorate their sixth anniversary, says a Washington-based terrorist watchdog group. The video, the al-Qaeda leader's first in nearly three years, is circulating on radical Islamic websites and addresses the American public, Bloomberg reports.

24 Killed in Pakistan Blasts

Sep 4, 2007 4:57 AM CDT

24 Killed in Pakistan Blasts

Dozens more injured by two bombs near Islamabad

(Newser) - A government-owned bus exploded early this morning in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, killing everyone on board, reports the Washington Post. While emergency crews were responding to the scene, a second bomb tore through a market area in the military city near the capital of Islamabad. The death toll currently stands at 24,...

Korean Hostages Back Home

Sep 2, 2007 8:12 AM CDT

Korean Hostages Back Home

They're sorry for 'causing trouble'

(Newser) - Nineteen relieved Christian aid workers returned home to South Korea yesterday after Taliban kidnapers released them from six weeks of captivity. They sank into the grateful arms of family and apologized to the public for "causing trouble." Korean officials had warned the church group not to travel to...

Koreans Talk About Ordeal

Aug 31, 2007 12:10 PM CDT

Koreans Talk About Ordeal

(Newser) - "All I could think about was staying alive," said one of the South Korean aid workers released from captivity in Afghanistan yesterday. “Now that the tension is gone my body aches all over.” The group reunited in a Kabul hotel today and spoke to the South...

Final Korean Hostages
Walk Free

Aug 30, 2007 1:34 PM CDT

Final Korean Hostages Walk Free

Christian aid workers out of Taliban hands after 6 weeks

(Newser) - Taliban militants in Afghanistan freed the remaining seven South Korean hostages today, CNN reports, ending an episode that began July 19 with the abduction of 23 Christian aid workers. After two were executed, the remaining hostages were gradually released as the South Korean government negotiated with the captors, promising to...

Taliban Frees 4 More Captives

Aug 30, 2007 10:17 AM CDT

Taliban Frees 4 More Captives

Last Koreans also scheduled for release

(Newser) - Taliban militants released four of their remaining seven South Korean hostages today. The two men and two women were released to Red Cross officials on a road in central Afghanistan, the AP reports. The Red Cross is on its way to pick up the three remaining hostages from the original...

8 Korean Hostages Freed

Aug 29, 2007 6:56 AM CDT

8 Korean Hostages Freed

Taliban freeing prisoners after reaching a deal with South Korea

(Newser) - The Taliban released eight hostages today, a day after reaching a deal with the South Korean government. Three who were released earlier this morning were brought to the town of Ghazni by tribal elders—acting as mediators—then handed over to the Red Cross. South Korea has agreed to pull...

Deal Reached on Hostages

Aug 28, 2007 8:14 AM CDT

Deal Reached on Hostages

Taliban, Seoul agree on terms, including withdrawal of troops

(Newser) - Talks between the Taliban and the South Korean government have resulted in the outline of a deal to release the remaining 19 hostages held in Afghanistan for over a month. The agreement involves withdrawal of Korea's 200 noncombat troops and an end to missionary activity, CNN reports, but not payment...

Afghanistan Supplies 93%
of World's Opiates

Aug 28, 2007 6:47 AM CDT

Afghanistan Supplies 93% of World's Opiates

Poppy crop jumps 34% over last year

(Newser) - Afghanistan's opium production has soared over the last year and the country now supplies 93% of the world's opiates. Most of the poppies are grown along the country's southern border with Pakistan, where the insurgency is strong, security is weak, and the Taliban continues to use its drug profits to...

Police Raid Frees Kabul Hostage

Aug 19, 2007 6:49 PM CDT

Police Raid Frees Kabul Hostage

Kidnappers call themselves 'a special network,' police say they are not Taliban

(Newser) - Afghan police stormed a secret location in Kabul today and freed a German aid worker held by kidnappers this weekend, CNN reports. Her abductors had circulated a video of her asking for the release of unknown prisoners and pleading for her own freedom. The captors said only that they are...

Korean Hostage Talks Fail

Aug 18, 2007 11:46 AM CDT

Korean Hostage Talks Fail

Taliban says demands not met; group is considering the fate of 19 captives

(Newser) - As the 19 remaining Korean hostages await news of their fate, negotiations to secure their release have failed, according to a Taliban spokesman. The terror group says its principal demand—the liberation of insurgents being held by coalition forces—was not met; South Korean officials have insisted Seoul has no...

In Pakistan, a Birthday Marred by Violence

Aug 14, 2007 6:26 AM CDT

In Pakistan, a Birthday Marred by Violence

Nation turns 60 amid bomb attacks and political upheaval

(Newser) - Pakistan celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence today at a moment plagued by violence and shadowed by political uncertainty, the Independent writes. A roadside bomb killed four civilians yesterday near the border with Afghanistan, where the Taliban is allegedly regrouping. Attacks have multiplied since July from tribal areas to...

Taliban Frees
2 South Korean Hostages

Aug 13, 2007 8:37 AM CDT

Taliban Frees 2 South Korean Hostages

Women in Red Cross custody after roadside hand-over

(Newser) - The Taliban freed two of the South Korean hostages abducted in Afghanistan today, releasing them to the Red Cross in Ghazni province, the Telegraph reports. A BBC reporter saw the two women, who were reported to be in "fair" health and were released after talks with South Korean negotiators....

Why Are We Losing Afghanistan?

Aug 12, 2007 4:24 PM CDT

Why Are We Losing Afghanistan?

Miscalculated and under-emphasized the country time and again

(Newser) - Critical misjudgments and a consistent refusal to commit resources undermined what appeared to be a US triumph in routing the Taliban in Afghanistan, the New York Times reports in a detailed analysis of how the "good war" seems to have gone bad. From Donald Rumsfeld’s early rebuff of...

Musharraf Talks at Peace Jirga

Aug 12, 2007 11:18 AM CDT

Musharraf Talks at Peace Jirga

General meets with Afghan and Pakistani leaders to discuss extremism

(Newser) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf today pledged to fight the "particularly dark form" of extremism that afflicts his country and Afghanistan, speaking to 600 tribal leaders from the two countries at the close of a peace jirga in Kabul, the AP reports. He said the rise of militancy is preventing...

Taliban to Free
2 Hostages

Aug 11, 2007 1:41 PM CDT

Taliban to Free 2 Hostages

Militant group will release sick women from captivity, report says

(Newser) - The Taliban will release two South Korean hostages who have become sick after nearly a month of captivity in Afghanistan. The announcement came during talks between the militant group and South Korean emissaries, but hasn't been confirmed by international groups monitoring the situation.

South Korea Begins Taliban Hostage Talks

Aug 10, 2007 5:01 PM CDT

South Korea Begins Taliban Hostage Talks

Hostages said to be safe while negotiations continue

(Newser) - A South Korean team began face-to-face negotiations with the Taliban today, hoping to secure the lives of 21 Korean aid workers abducted last month. The meeting is taking place in an Afghan government-controlled zone where the Taliban has been guaranteed temporary safe passage. Seoul has already cautioned that it doesn't...

Musharraf Backs Down From Emergency Rule

Aug 9, 2007 12:53 PM CDT

Musharraf Backs Down From Emergency Rule

Under pressure, ruling general instead moves toward elections

(Newser) - After wide speculation that he would invoke emergency measures to deal with mounting violence and instability, Pakistan's president put out word today that he will stay the course on elections, Reuters reports. Beset by Islamic militants, constitutional challenges and declining poll numbers, Pervez Musharraf was thought to be on the...

Musharraf Bails on Karzai Meeting

Aug 8, 2007 2:16 PM CDT

Musharraf Bails on Karzai Meeting

Pakistan chief snubs Afghan jirga; US claims 'good reasons'

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf has backed out of meetings with his Afghan counterpart in an abrupt snub that initially shocked Washington. Musharraf told Hamid Karzai he has other “engagements" at home in Pakistan and can't attend the meeting of tribal leaders intended to discuss military violence. The US is looking into...