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German man freed in Afghanistan Taleban 'kill' S Korean hostage
(40 minutes later)
A German journalist and his Afghan translator who were kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan have been released, officials say. The Taleban in Afghanistan say they have killed one of the 23 South Korean hostages they are holding.
The release was secured through talks with tribal elders. No ransom had been paid, the Kunar province governor said. A spokesman for the radical group said this was a response to the refusal of the Afghan authorities to release imprisoned Taleban fighters.
The 23 Koreans were abducted in Ghazni, south-west of Kabul, on Thursday.
Meanwhile a German journalist and his Afghan translator have been released a day after their capture in eastern Afghanistan, officials say.
Taleban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told Reuters news agency on Wednesday: "Since Kabul's administration did not listen to our demand and did not free our prisoners, the Taliban shot dead a male Korean hostage."
There was no independent confirmation of the claim. The South Korean hostages - most of who are women - are members of a Christian aid group.
The release of the German journalist and his translator was secured through talks with tribal elders.
No ransom had been paid, the Kunar province governor said.
The men were said to be looking for a village where civilians had been killed in a Nato air strike.The men were said to be looking for a village where civilians had been killed in a Nato air strike.
Two other Germans were kidnapped in central Afghanistan last week. The body of one was later found by a road.
Afghan authorities are also trying to secure the release of 23 South Koreans being held by Taleban militants.
Village visit
Governor Shalizai Didar said he had spoken to the freed men by phone and that they were in good health.
"They were freed with no conditions through the power and co-operation of peace-loving local elders," Mr Didar said.
A senior security official in Kunar told the BBC that the German journalist had disappeared when visiting the village of Sangar in Wattapour district.
A local hotelier told the BBC that the journalist, who he said worked for a German magazine, had been staying at his lodgings when insurgents arrived at the door. They dragged the journalist out of the building and took him away.
The hotelier said the journalist was taken with two Afghans - a driver and an interpreter - but local officials say only two people were kidnapped.
Taleban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said on Wednesday that the group would kill some of the South Korean hostages because talks with the Afghan government had stalled.
His claims could not be independently verified.