Nineteen South Koreans freed by the Taliban prepared to fly home today as their government denied allegations it had paid a ransom to end the six-week hostage stand-off.
A Taliban spokesman vowed to abduct more foreigners, reinforcing fears that South Korea's decision to negotiate directly with the militants would embolden them.
"We will do the same thing with the other allies in Afghanistan, because we found this way to be successful," he said.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi on the kidnapping of 19 South Koreans
The 19 hostages, all church volunteers seized as they travelled by bus in southern Afghanistan on July 19th, were freed in separate handovers on Wednesday and yesterday under the terms of a deal struck between the Taliban and South Korean government representatives.
A South Korean presidential spokesman said the former hostages would be leaving Afghanistan later today on a flight to Dubai, from where they would travel onward to South Korea.
Originally 23 South Koreans were seized, but the militants killed two men soon after taking them, and released two women earlier this month in what they termed a "goodwill" gesture.
Under the terms of Tuesday's agreement, Seoul repeated a pledge it had made long before the kidnappings to withdraw its 200 troops in Afghanistan before year's end and vowed to prevent missionaries travelling to the country.
The Taliban apparently backed down from an earlier demand for a prisoner exchange.
A senior Afghan official close to the negotiations today alleged the South Koreans also paid a ransom.
The South Korean spokesman dismissed the claim, and the Taliban has repeatedly denied receiving any money.