Twelve of 23 Korean taken hostage by Islamist militants in Afghanistan were seen on TV for the first time since their abduction. The Arab satellite channel TV Al Jazeera broadcast a silent video of the nine women and three men on Monday.
The women were wearing hijab or Islamic headscarves. Five women were sitting and the rest were standing in what appeared to be a dark room. A spotlight was turned on the faces of the hostages one by one. All of them looked pale and appeared frightened.
Al Jazeera said it obtained the video footage on the same day in Afghanistan and the video seemed to have been recorded four days ago. Families of the Korean hostages confirmed the identities of seven of the 12.
