WRAP Taliban spox claims Germans killed, site of kidnap, Afghan FM spox, German FM
(21 Jul 2007) Shashgala village, Wardak Province, Afghanistan 1. Vehicles passing through Shashgala village on Kabul-Kandahar highway, close to where two German nationals and five Afghans were abducted by Taliban on 18 July 2. Passenger bus stopping 3. Various of police on board bus to check passengers 4. Various of armed police at post in area close to where kidnapping of German nationals occurred Ghazni City, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan 5. SOUNDBITE (Pashtu) Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, purported Taliban spokesman: ++OVERLAID WITH VIDEO OF TOP SHOT OF GHAZNI BAZAAR, TOP SHOTS OF TRAFFIC PASSING ALONG ROAD, AND VARIOUS WIDE TOP SHOTS OF MOSQUE AND MOUNTAIN ++ ++AUDIO BY SATELLITE PHONE FROM UNDISCLOSED LOCATION++ "After the killing of the first one (German hostage) we decided to delay the killing of the second hostage for 10, 20 minutes because we thought maybe the Afghan government or German Embassy will come up with some type of proposal. But nothing happened and then our mujaheddin killed the second hostage with his five Afghan colleagues. As for the others (the Korean hostages), we have given the government time (a deadline) up to 7 o'clock in the evening tomorrow (1430GMT) to meet our demands. And if they don't fulfil our demands and if anything happens then the Afghan and South Korean governments will bear all the responsibility." 6. Wide top shot of Ghazni 7. SOUNDBITE (Pashtu) Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, purported Taliban spokesman: ++OVERLAID WITH VARIOUS WIDE TOP SHOTS OF CITY, GROUND SHOT OF TRAFFIC ON ROAD++ ++AUDIO BY SATELLITE PHONE FROM UNDISCLOSED LOCATION++ "If the government of Afghanistan and the government of (South) Korea are asking for the release of their hostages, then we believe the Taliban also have the right to ask for the release of their prisoners who are spending time in Afghan jails. So we ask the Afghan government to release 23 Taliban prisoners in exchange of these 23 hostages, if they want to see them released. Secondly we want the (South) Korean government to withdraw all their troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year." Kabul, Afghanistan 8. Wide exterior of Afghan Foreign Ministry building 9. SOUNDBITE: (Dari) Sultan Ahmad Baheen, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman: "The information that we and our security forces have is that one of these two who were kidnapped (the German hostages) died of a heart attack. The second hostage is alive and we hope that he will be released soon and we are trying our level best to get his release." Berlin, Germany 10. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier walking to microphones 11. Cutaway cameras 12. SOUNDBITE (German) Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Foreign Minister: "So after today's work at the crisis management group we have to assume that one of the two kidnapped Germans has died while being held hostage. There are no indications that he has been killed, there is evidence that he died due to the stress and strains inflicted upon him by his kidnappers." 13. Steinmeier leaving STORYLINE: A purported Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan said the hardline militia killed two German and five Afghan hostages on Saturday, but were willing to release 23 South Korean Christians in exchange for the freedom of imprisoned Taliban fighters. But the Afghan government said it had contradictory information concerning the Germans, casting doubt on the purported spokesman's claims. In Berlin on Saturday, the German foreign minister said one hostage had died, but the other was believed to be alive. The seven were kidnapped on Wednesday in the southern province of Wardak while working on a dam project. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
