Taliban Releases New Video of US, Australian Hostages

Afghanistan’s Taliban released a new video Wednesday showing two professors, one American and one Australian, urging U.S. President Donald Trump to negotiate their freedom with the Islamist insurgent group.

Sixty-year-old American Kevin King and 48-year-old Timothy Weeks of Australia, teachers with the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, were kidnapped at gunpoint near the campus last August.

The Taliban wants freedom for its “soldiers” being held at the U.S.-run Bagram airbase and the Afghan prison called Pul-e-Charkhi in return for freeing the two professors, the hostages said in their video messages.

“My captors treat me well. They treat me and my colleague Tim Weeks as their guests; but, every prisoner’s final wish is to get freedom from the prison,” said King, who was seen with a long beard.

King said he recorded the message on June 16.

For his part, Weeks urged Australian politicians to raise the issue in parliament, saying the only way for him to go home is for the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, to speak to the Taliban and President Trump in order to reach an agreement with their captors.

“I pray that this happens shortly and that the Taliban soldiers may be returned home to their families for Eid [the Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan] and that I may be able to go home to my family and to my friends. Help, please. Thank you,” said Weeks.

This is the second video distributed by the Taliban to the news media since January as “proof of life” of the abductees in a bid to press for demands. Neither the Afghan government nor U.S. officials has responded to the video.

The hostages are believed to be in the custody of the notorious Haqqani network, an ally of the Taliban.

The video’s release comes at a time when Afghan authorities are reportedly planning to execute a group of Taliban prisoners convicted on terrorism charges.

It is not clear, however, whether Annas Haqqani, a son of the founder of the Haqqani network, Jalaluddin Haqqani, is among the group of prisoners.

Afghan officials have not confirmed the reports and the Taliban, in response, threatens to unleash a new wave of attacks against all Afghan institutions if the government goes ahead with the executions.

The Afghan insurgents are also holding another U.S. citizen, Caitlan Coleman, 31, and her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, 33. They were kidnapped by the Taliban in 2012.

In a video message released in December, the couple urged then-President-elect Trump to negotiate with the Taliban to secure their release in return for the prisoners.

 

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