Afghan hostages to be killed in 3 days

KABUL – Militants holding three UN workers hostage set a three-day deadline yesterday for foreign troops and the United Nations to leave Afghanistan, saying they would kill the hostages otherwise.

The demands were read out to AFP shortly before the Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera broadcast a video showing the three UN employees, who were kidnapped at gunpoint on Thursday in Kabul. The hostages’ governments will “witness the death of their nationals in three days” unless four demands are met, said Mullah Mohammad Ishaq, spokesman for the breakaway Taliban group Jaishul Muslimeen (Army of Muslims).”We have four demands,” Ishaq told AFP by phone.”First, we want the UN to leave Afghanistan and we want them to condemn the attacks and invasion of Afghanistan by foreign forces,” he said.”Second, we want all those Afghans who have been arrested in Afghanistan and held in foreign prisons to be released immediately.”Number three, we want Britain and Kosovo to withdraw their forces immediately from Afghanistan or to witness the deaths of their nationals in three days.”And fourth, we want the Philippines to condemn the invasion of foreign forces in Afghanistan and to announce it as illegal.””We announce a three-day deadline.”Al Jazeera did not specify the date of receiving the tape, but the captors said they gave the tape to Al-Jazeera and to a reporter in Pakistan at around 9:00am.Nampa-AFPThe hostages’ governments will “witness the death of their nationals in three days” unless four demands are met, said Mullah Mohammad Ishaq, spokesman for the breakaway Taliban group Jaishul Muslimeen (Army of Muslims).”We have four demands,” Ishaq told AFP by phone.”First, we want the UN to leave Afghanistan and we want them to condemn the attacks and invasion of Afghanistan by foreign forces,” he said.”Second, we want all those Afghans who have been arrested in Afghanistan and held in foreign prisons to be released immediately.”Number three, we want Britain and Kosovo to withdraw their forces immediately from Afghanistan or to witness the deaths of their nationals in three days.”And fourth, we want the Philippines to condemn the invasion of foreign forces in Afghanistan and to announce it as illegal.””We announce a three-day deadline.”Al Jazeera did not specify the date of receiving the tape, but the captors said they gave the tape to Al-Jazeera and to a reporter in Pakistan at around 9:00am.Nampa-AFP