By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Three of the 19 South Korean hostages held by the Taliban in Afghanistan have gone on a hunger strike, the Korean news agency Yonhap said Monday.
According to an unnamed source, the hostages, who are reportedly being held in the Afghan province of Ghazni, began the hunger strike Sunday.
South Korean media reported earlier that the Afghan militants had issued a new ultimatum, saying they would start killing the hostages Monday unless the authorities released eight Taliban prisoners.
The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Korean nationals July 19 as they were travelling by bus from Kabul to Kandahar on a humanitarian mission.
Taliban militants have executed two of the male hostages and threatened to kill others if South Korea does not pull its military contingent out of Afghanistan and if the Afghan government does not release its imprisoned fighters.
Following the first round of negotiations with South Korea, Taliban released two female hostages last Monday.