New Delhi: The Taliban has threatened to kill 18 South Korean Christians it kidnapped in Ghazni province unless Seoul pulls out its 200 troops from Afghanistan.
They have given Seoul till Saturday to take a decision.
Fifteen of those who have been kidnapped are women, who are members of a Christian community -- Saemmul Community Church in Bundang, just south of the South Korean capital of Seoul -- who had entered Afghanistan on July 13 for volunteer work and were planning to return home on Monday.
They were kidnapped at gunpoint when they were travelling by bus from Kabul to Kandahar. South Korean embassy officials are heading for Ghazni to try and get in touch with the kidnappers.
The Koreans in the past have been accused of proselytizing in Afghanistan.
Outmatched by foreign troops, the Taliban often resorts to kidnapping civilians caught travelling on treacherous roads, particularly in the country's south, where the insurgency is raging.
The tactic hurts Hameed Karzai's government by discouraging foreigners involved in reconstruction projects from venturing outside big towns and into remote areas where their help is most needed.
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