Hostage release Claudia Sonea

The Nineteen South Korean Christian volunteers took as hostages by the Taliban in Afghanistan for six weeks were finally freed and returned home. They all bowed their heads at Incheon airport outside Seoul thanking the people from South Korea and apologising for all the trouble created. Lyu Kyung-sik spoke on their behalf, standing between framed pictures of the two hostages shot dead by the Taliban. Many of the hostages were taken to a hospital in Anyang, south of Seoul, where their relatives were expecting them. The suburban Seoul Saemmul Church that dispatched the group was harshly criticised because despite all the government's warnings they still sent the volunteers to an obvious danger area. Moreover 1,300 crammed Saemmul Church for services on Sunday with a pastor complained that the government asked compensation from it for costs incurred in securing the release. According to a senior Taliban leader that declared to Reuters, Seoul had paid $20 million ransom, but the South Korean government denied everything and said that they agreed to pull out a small contingent of military engineers and medical staff and to end South Korean missionary work in Afghanistan. South Korea Christian missionaries working abroad are second after USA and they fight against wars. Taliban insurgents kidnapped 23 South Koreans in mid-July and a lot of victims are registered. Church leaders would rethink their strategy, but a leading group said the Afghan ordeal had only strengthened its resolve to send more missionaries overseas. Giving in to terrorism is not an option according for them. Let's say a pray for all those that lost their souls in the cruel ordeal.

related story: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20070902/tpl-uk-korea-hostages-c3c492c.html

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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