Taliban Want to Swap Sick Hostages For Prisoners

The demand came amid criticism among Muslims who learned that some of the female hostages are suffering from dehydration and intestinal disorders.

However, Seoul officials said no hostage has contracted any serious illness so far.

``There are no signs that the hostages are seriously ill,'' Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said during a Cabinet meeting. ``Their health cannot be perfect after 20 days in captivity. In that sense, it is not good overall.''

Ahmadi said the Taliban received only a small quantity of medical supplies sent by a group of Afghan doctors.

Meanwhile, he flatly denied a report that the militants proposed an exchange of female hostages for woman Taliban prisoners.

``The Taliban do not have female members in our ranks.''

The jailed women are just simple supporters who were convicted of providing food or shelter to Taliban fighters, he said.

``There are Afghan women imprisoned by the U.S. military at Bagram and Kandahar bases and the Taliban can negotiate on that if the Afghan government offers such negotiations,'' he added.

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