Three More Taliban Kidnappers Killed
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan police have killed three Taliban commanders involved in the abduction of 23 South Koreans, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.
The ministry said the police operation took place Friday in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, where the insurgents seized 23 South Koreans on July 19.
“The commanders who were killed during this operation were directly involved in the kidnapping case of the Korean hostages,” the ministry said in a statement. It did not provide any further details or the identities of the slain Taliban.
Ghazni has seen several military operations since the captives’ release Aug. 29 and Aug. 30, possibly reflecting a desire by the Afghan government to assert its authority on the rebellious region following the abductions.
Another Taliban commander behind the kidnapping of South Korean church workers, Mullah Mateen, was killed in an operation early this month.
Two of the Korean hostages were slain soon after the kidnapping. Two women were released later during the Taliban’s negotiations with South Korea, and the remaining 19 were freed after Seoul repeated a long-standing commitment to withdraw its 200 soldiers here by year’s end and prevent church workers from travelling to Afghanistan.
In other violence Friday, at least eight suspected Taliban were killed in separate Afghan army operations in Helmand province, while two Afghan soldiers lost their lives in insurgent violence in western Farah province, the Defence Ministry said.
More than 4,300 people - mostly militants - have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Western and Afghan officials.
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Sow to the wind, reap the whirlwind. Excellent news.
September 16th, 2007 at 7:37 amObviously, the South Korean’s caving to the Taliban wuss kidnappers was a huge mistake but this is the good side of things. Hopefully, every last one of the Taliban involved in the kidnappings will be hunted down and offed. So the next time Taliban HQ decides they are low on cash and order a kidnapping, there’s no one there to draw straws.
September 16th, 2007 at 8:04 am“Afghan loss equals terrorist win: Michael Scheuer, a retired 22-year CIA veteran / CIA analyst”
He said Western countries like Canada are pursuing wrong strategies in Afghanistan and may also face loss there.
Canada and its allies have too many agendas in Afghanistan and yet have deployed too few soldiers to carry out the tasks. This has already led to a near-defeat there and if Western countries decide to pull out combat troops it would mean the ultimate triumph of terrorism, he said.
September 16th, 2007 at 7:11 pmNote the use of the word “violence” to describe (successful) battles and fighting. “It’s all the same nasty stuff, you see!” “Nice peoples don’t hurt anybodys — it’s so not nice!”
September 16th, 2007 at 10:12 pm