Two women freed by Taliban kidnappers left a U.S. base to await a flight home, while South Korean and militant officials negotiated by telephone Tuesday over the 19 remaining hostages.The women's release Monday was the first breakthrough in a drama that began more than three weeks ago when a busload of 23 South Korean church volunteers was seized. Two of the hostages, both men, were killed last month.
The handover came after two days of face-to-face talks between the Taliban and a South Korean delegation. Franz Rauchenstein, an official with the International Committee of the Red Cross said, officials were ready to host more talks at the office of the Afghan Red Crescent in Ghazni, but the two sides were talking by phone for now.
"We stand ready to play the role of neutral intermediary for the release of the next 19 hostages and we are urging the two parties to make it a short process in the interest of the hostages," he said.
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