Taliban Negotiate Over Korean Hostages

South Korean protesters hold candles during a rally demanding the safe return of South Koreans kidnapped in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of South Korean troops from that country in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 25, 2007. A purported Taliban spokesman said Wednesday that negotiations for the lives of 23 South Korean hostages have stalled and that the militants planned to kill "a few" of the captives immediately. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) (Lee Jin-man - AP)

"If Kabul administration does not solve our problem ... then we do not have any option but to kill Korean hostages," Ahmadi said.

"The Taliban are not asking for money. We just want to exchange our prisoners for Korean hostages. ... When they release the Taliban, we will release the hostages," Ahmadi said by phone from an undisclosed location.

Ahmadi said the 22 hostages were being held in small groups in different locations and were being fed "no burgers ... but the same food that our villagers have _ bread, yogurt, rice."

The South Koreans, including 18 women, were kidnapped while on a bus trip through Ghazni province on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, Afghanistan's main thoroughfare.

Their church said the abductees were not involved in any Christian missionary work in Afghanistan, and that they provided only medical and other volunteer aid to distressed people in the war-ravaged country. It said it will suspend some of its volunteer work in Afghanistan.

Two Germans were also kidnapped last week. One was found dead and the other apparently remains captive.

In new violence, U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan troops fought two separate battles with militants in southern Afghanistan, killing more than 60 suspected Taliban insurgents. A NATO soldier was killed in another incident, officials said.

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Associated Press reporters Alisa Tang in Kabul, Noor Khan in Kandahar and Kwang-tae Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.