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Sunday, November 07, 2004
Search teams comb Kabul for Nayan, 2 hostages
KABUL -- Efforts to free Angelito Nayan and two other hostages threatened with death by a Taliban splinter group have reached a sensitive stage, the US military said Saturday, and urged the kidnappers not to harm them.
Taliban-linked militants threatening to kill three kidnapped foreigners said Saturday negotiations with Afghan and U.N. officials had been postponed for another day.
President-elect Hamid Karzai renewed his condemnation of the abduction, and received a promise from his visiting Pakistani counterpart of closer cooperation in combating terrorism.
Authorities have not confirmed any contact with Jaish-al Muslimeen, a Taliban splinter group demanding a U.N. pullout from Afghanistan and the release of Taliban prisoners.
Syed Khaled, a spokesman for the militants, initially claimed talks had begun Saturday at a secret location in southern Afghanistan. But he claimed later than an Afghan government delegation arrived too late.
"Our people thought the talks might continue late into the night, so the two sides agreed to hold them tomorrow," Khaled told The Associated Press in a telephone call. "We hope that the Afghan government delegation will be empowered to solve the issue quickly."
His claims could not be verified independently.
The abduction of Annetta Flanigan of Northern Ireland, Nayan and Shqipe Hebibi of Kosovo was the first of foreigners in Kabul since the Taliban was ousted in 2001.
The militants released a videotape of the hostages last Sunday, fueling concern that they are copying the tactics of their Iraqi counterparts. Still, Afghan officials suspect the little-known group had help from warlord militias or criminal gangs.
The militants have repeatedly extended a deadline after which they say they will decide whether to kill the hostages.
They are also demanding that British troops leave Afghanistan and that the United States release Muslim inmates from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The U.S. military has volunteered to help in any rescue and said it was receiving daily government briefings.
Spokesman Maj. Scott Nelson said he couldn't give details of efforts to free them "because things are too sensitive now," while praising Afghan officials for "doing a good job in trying to get a resolution."
"The health of the (election) workers is with the kidnappers," Nelson said. "They need to make sure they safeguard their health and the best way to do that is to return them safely to the United Nations."
Armed men kidnapped Nayan, Annetta Flanigan of Northern Ireland and Shqipe Hebibi of Kosovo nine days ago in the Afghan capital, Kabul. All three were helping manage Afghanistan's Oct. 9 presidential election.
Ishaq Manzoor, who claims to be a spokesman for Jaish-al Muslimeen, said the world body and the Afghan government had until Saturday night to open "formal" talks with the shadowy Taliban offshoot.
Intervention
The group had threatened to kill the hostages on Friday if their demands were not met.
"Some respected people intervened and convinced our leaders to give time to the Afghan government and United Nations" to contact the group, Manzoor told The Associated Press from an undisclosed location.
Manzoor didn't say what would happen if the UN and Afghan officials failed to meet the latest deadline.
The militant group has demanded the release of Taliban prisoners from a US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and others in Afghan jails, as well as the withdrawals of British troops and the UN from Afghanistan in return for the hostages' lives.
Copycats
Afghan officials say security forces are still searching for the hostages, but neither the government nor the UN have confirmed any contact with the kidnappers.
President-elect Hamid Karzai and visiting Italian Deputy Prime Minster Gianfranco Fini yesterday condemned the hostage taking.
"We will do our best to solve this issue and to bring back the hostages to their families as soon as possible," Karzai said.
The abductions were the first kidnappings of foreigners in Kabul since the Taliban was ousted in 2001 and sparked concern that militants were copying the tactics of their Iraqi counterparts. (AP)
(November 7, 2004 issue)
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