Army 'surrounds Taleban captors'

Security forces have surrounded the location where Taleban fighters are holding 23 South Korean hostages,an Afghan defence ministry official says.But the Afghan deputy interior minister has stressed that negotiations are continuing and no military operation is currently under way.The Koreans were abducted in Ghazni, south-west of Kabul, on Thursday.Meanwhile,the body of one of two German nationals abducted on Wednesday has been found,local police said.Deputy Interior Minister Gen Munir Mangal,who is in Ghazni with a delegation negotiating the South Korean hostages' release,told the BBC that talks were continuing."We have members of parliament, the provincial council and elders from Ghazni,and I am optimistic that they will be freed soon.""There are no military operations.I categorically deny it,"Gen Mangal said.A team of South Korean hostage negotiators arrived also arrived in Kabul from Seoul on Sunday.The South Korean hostages were abducted from a bus travelling from Kandahar to Kabul on Thursday.They are reportedly Christians on an evangelical and aid mission.At least 15 are said to be women.A Taleban spokesman said on Sunday that they were in good health. The Taleban say they want to swap the 23 men and women for jailed fighters and are also demanding that South Korean forces leave Afghanistan.Earlier,Gen Mohammad Zahir Azimi,a spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry,told the BBC:"We have surrounded the area.We haven't launched an attack right now and we are assessing the situation."A spokesman for Nato forces said it was unaware of an operation but was ready to help the Afghan and South Korean governments if asked.The seizure is the largest-scale abduction of foreigners since the fall of the Taleban regime in 2001.An eight-strong South Korean delegation,including a presidential envoy,arrived in Kabul on Sunday and was meeting Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other officials.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6910461.stm
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