Hostage claim on Afghan television

A MAN claiming to have kidnapped an Italian aid worker in the Afghan capital threatened yesterday in an interview on local television to kill her unless his demands were immediately met.

The man, who called himself Temur Shah, has also had negotiations with aid group CARE International - the employer of hostage Clementina Cantoni.

Shah said Cantoni’s health was “very critical”, adding that she had internal bleeding, was vomiting and had not eaten in three days. He said she hurt her head during her abduction, when four men dragged her from her car in Kabul on Monday night.