Alleged Hostage Denies That 30 Foreign Journalists Have Been Captured In Afghanistan

Allegations that 30 foreign journalists were taken hostage have been refuted by one of them. The Bulgarian Dnevnik newspaper, whose journalist was named among the hostages said that journalists in Afghanistan are out of danger. The journalists "have neither been arrested nor taken hostages", the newspaper stated. According to the RIA Novosti correspondent in Islamabad, a report that Afghan tribes had captured 30 foreign journalists for ransom was circulated Monday by the Pakistan Observer newspaper. It was reported that journalists from the USA, Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, and several Middle Eastern countries had been captured north of Kabul in territory beyond Taliban control, and $100,000 was being demanded for their release. However, Stojan Vitanov, the correspondent of the Bulgarian Dnevnik newspaper in Afghanistan, refuted this information. According to him, the journalists "are waiting for the takeoff clearance for their helicopter, while local authorities say the takeoff has been postponed due to bad weather".