South Koreans Kidnapped in Afghanistan

Afghan policemen stand guard near the site of a suicide attack in Fayzabad, the capital of Badakshan province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 19, 2007. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police station in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing one civilian and wounding 25 other people, as roadside bomb killed two policemen in the south, officials said. (AP Photo) (Str - AP)

An official at the Presbyterian church confirmed 20 of its members were in Afghanistan for volunteer work. The group left South Korea on July 13 and was to return on July 23, she said, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the media.

Outmatched by foreign troops, the Taliban often resort to kidnapping civilians caught traveling on treacherous roads, particularly in the country's south, where the insurgency is raging. The tactic hurts President Hamid Karzai's government by discouraging foreigners involved in reconstruction projects from venturing into remote areas where their help is most needed.

The Koreans were seized as they traveled on a privately rented bus along the main highway from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar, Ahmadzai said. The militants drove the bus into the desert before abandoning the vehicle and forcing the group to walk for about one hour, he said.

He said the group was in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif before it arrived in Kabul.

There were conflicting reports on how many Koreans were kidnapped.

The South Koreans' bus driver, released late Thursday, said there were 18 women and five men on the bus, Ahmadzai said. The Taliban spokesman said 15 women and three men were seized.

The abductions came a day after two Germans and five of Afghan colleagues working on a dam project were kidnapped in central Wardak province.

Ahmadi said the Taliban were also holding the two Germans, and threatened to kill them if Germany did not withdraw its 3,000 troops from a NATO-led force by noon Saturday _ the same deadline as he gave South Korea.

Germany's Foreign Ministry said it was "aware of the statement by the so-called spokesman of the Taliban" but that it contradicted a statement the previous day that the Taliban was not holding the Germans.

"We will continue to carefully monitor developments of the situation," ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said. "All necessary steps have been taken. The crisis team continues to work toward a swift release of the two kidnapped men."

On June 28, another German man was kidnapped in western Afghanistan, but was released after a week.

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Associated Press writers Noor Khan in Kandahar, Amir Shah in Kabul, Bo-mi Lim in Seoul, South Korea, and Melissa Eddy in Berlin, Germany, contributed to this report.