Midnight death deadlines for Afghan hostages

Afghan militants threatening to kill three UN hostages, including Northern Ireland's Annetta Flanigan, pushed back the deadline for their deaths until midnight today – 7.30pm Irish time.

And they said they might spare one of the three from execution – a Filipino diplomat, because his country has no troops in Afghanistan.

The militants also urged the Afghan government to acknowledge it is in talks with the group – a new demand alongside the withdrawal of British troops and the UN from the country.

A Taliban splinter group claims it abducted Annetta Flanigan of Northern Ireland, Filipino Angelito Nayan and Shqipe Hebibi of Kosovo in Kabul last Thursday.

Jaish-al Muslimeen, or Army of Muslims, released a video on Sunday showing the frightened captives pleading for their freedom.

However, Afghan officials suspect that warlords or criminal groups were also involved in the bold daylight snatch and have launched a search operation in the capital and surrounding countryside.

Akbar Agha, the group’s purported leader, said today that it had received a call from “the authorities.”

“We will not contact them as it will look as if we are the ones who need talks. They will have to approach us,” Agha said by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.

“We want the Afghan government and the UN to officially declare that they are in contact with us,” he said. “We have set 12 midnight as the deadline.”

Officials at the UN and in the Afghan government, none of whom have confirmed any contact so far, could not be reached immediately. The Philippine government has sent diplomats to Kabul, but has imposed a news blackout.

Agha suggested Nayan might be spared.

“There will be a death penalty for those who are aggressors,” he said.

“Britain and Kosovo have troops in Afghanistan, and they are aggressors. But Philippines does not have forces so it is not an aggressor country.”

An Afghan security official said the search for the trio had expanded from the city and the neighbouring Paghman valley to Wardak province, immediately to the west.

Police units deployed last night “are searching there in two or three places,” the official said.

The Afghan Interior Ministry has also said its initiatives to secure the hostages’ freedom are progressing, but has denied it is in contact with the kidnappers.

All three hostages were in Afghanistan to help manage last month’s presidential election.

Interim leader Hamid Karzai, who has condemned the latest kidnapping, secured a majority of the votes, and was to be confirmed as the country’s first popularly chosen leader at a ceremony later today.