It is now uncertain whether the Taliban will release two of the South Korean aid workers being held hostage in Afghanistan.
Yesterday, two spokesmen for the Taliban said that the women, both ill, had been freed as a gesture of goodwill.
The statement came as talks between Islamists and a South Korean delegation were due to get underway
Those negotiations were set to resume today, but it has been reported that the leadership had changed its mind and suspended the decision to free the women. South Korea has refused to confirm the report.
The aid workers, 16 of them women, have been held for more than three weeks since they were captured on 19 July.
The Taliban has shot dead two hostages in an effort to pressure the Government into freeing its captured fighters, a demand Kabul has refused.
