Militants claiming to hold three UN hostages said they would decide yesterday whether to kill them, after declaring that talks on their demands, including the release of Taliban prisoners, had broken down.
Two senior Afghan officials said on condition of anonymity yesterday that security forces were still searching for the hostages, but they had no information about any contact with the kidnappers.
The Jaish-al Muslimeen, a shadowy Taliban splinter group, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Irish-British hostage Annetta Flanigan was "seriously ill" because of the strain of her captivity, and all three were sickened by a diet of little more than cookies.
A purported commander for the group said UN and Afghan officials contacted them by telephone Thursday but were "not ready for negotiations."
"We have decided that we won't negotiate any more, either, because they are not making a serious effort to get the hostages released," a man identifying himself as Sadir Momin said in a satellite telephone call.
The group planned to hold a council yesterday. "Then we will decide whether to kill them or allow more time," he said.
The man was among three purported representatives of the militant group who spoke to reporters. The representatives' claims could not be verified independently.
Armed men abducted Flanigan, Filipino Angelito Nayan and Shqipe Hebibi of Kosovo a week ago in the Afghan capital.
The group's leader, Akbar Agha, said that Flanigan was ailing.
"My friends have told me she is very frightened. She can't speak smoothly," he said. "The Afghan government will be responsible if anything happens to her."
The abductions were the first kidnappings of foreigners in Kabul since the Taliban was ousted in 2001 and sparked concern militants were copying the tactics of their Iraqi counterparts.
The group released a videotape of the hostages Sunday to back its claim of responsibility and has demanded the withdrawals of British troops and the United Nations from Afghanistan in return for the hostages' lives.
Still, Afghan officials doubt the little-known group could have pulled off the kidnappings without the help of a local militia or criminal gang, and authorities have conducted a number of searches.
On Thursday, the group claimed it gave authorities a list of 25 Taliban prisoners, some held at a U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and others in Afghan jails.
UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva thanked the Afghan government Thursday for its efforts to free the hostages. He said the world body was "doing all it can" in support.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
ACTIONABLE ADVICE: The majority of chatbots tested provided guidance on weapons, tactics and target selections, with Perplexity and Meta AI deemed to be the least safe From school shootings to synagogue bombings, leading artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots helped researchers plot violent attacks, according to a study published on Wednesday that highlighted the technology’s potential for real-world harm. Researchers from the nonprofit watchdog Center for Countering Digital Hate and CNN posed as 13-year-old boys in the US and Ireland to test 10 chatbots, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Deepseek and Meta AI. Eight of the chatbots assisted the make-believe attackers in more than half the responses, providing advice on “locations to target” and “weapons to use” in an attack, the study said. The chatbots had become a “powerful accelerant for
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
RSS