Annetta talks break down - death deadline set for Friday

Afghan militants claiming to hold three UN hostages, including Irish woman Annetta Flanigan, said talks on demands including the release of Taliban prisoners had broken down today.

They said they would decide tomorrow whether to kill the trio.

The group also claimed hostage Annetta Flanigan, from Co Armagh, Northern Ireland, was “seriously ill” because of the strain of her captivity, and that all three were sickened by a diet of little more than biscuits.

“My friends have told me she is very frightened. She can’t speak smoothly,” Akbar Agha, the group’s leader, said in a satellite phone call.

“The Afghan government will be responsible if anything happens to her.”

A purported commander for Jaish-al Muslimeen, a shadowy Taliban splinter group, said UN and Afghan officials contacted them by telephone today 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.

“Tomorrow we will hold another shura (council) up until 2 pm (9.30pm Irish time). Then we will decide whether to kill them or allow more time,” Momin said.

He didn’t elaborate on the supposed talks.

Afghan and UN officials were either unavailable or declined to comment. Neither have confirmed any contact with the kidnappers.

Armed men abducted Ms Flanigan, Filipino Angelito Nayan and Shqipe Hebibi of Kosovo a week ago in the Afghan capital.

It was the first kidnapping of foreigners in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and sparked concern that militants are copying the tactics of their Iraqi counterparts.

The group released a video of the hostages on Sunday to back its claim of responsibility and has demanded the withdrawal of British troops as well as the UN from Afghanistan in return for their lives.

Still, Afghan officials doubt the little-known group could have pulled off the kidnapping without the help of a local militia or criminal gang, and have carried out a number of search operations in and around the city.

Today, spokesmen for the group claimed that it had given authorities a list of 25 Taliban prisoners, some held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and others in Afghan jails.

“The government said they would think about releasing those Taliban held in Afghan prisons and discuss the prisoners held by the Americans,” spokesman Syed Khaled said.

UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva today thanked the Afghan government for its efforts to free the trio. He said the world body was “doing all it can” in support, but gave no details.

He also said UN staff had been warmed by messages of support, including a statement by the Council of Ulema, or religious scholars, which said the kidnappings ”defame Islam.”

“However, we are increasingly worried about Shqipe, Lito and Annetta,” Almeida e Silva said. “The psychological pressure must be tremendous, not knowing what will happen from one day to the next ... we ask those holding them to release them immediately and unharmed.”

The militants have backed off a series of deadlines to kill the three hostages, claiming negotiations are under way. They also have suggested that Nayan, a Philippine diplomat, might be spared because his country has no troops in Afghanistan.

All three hostages were helping manage last month’s Afghan presidential election, whose result was officially confirmed Wednesday.

The hostage-taking cast a shadow over the ceremony as interim leader Hamid Karzai was officially declared Afghanistan’s first-ever popularly elected president.

“It has saddened all the electoral staff and the nation of Afghanistan,” electoral board chairman Zakim Shah said, appealing for the swift release of the victims “to put an end to this suffering during what should be a time of national celebration.”