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The noon (3:30 a.m. EDT) deadline passed a day after Afghan police found the body of the second hostage slain since the volunteers with a church group were seized two weeks ago. The Taliban extended several previous deadlines by hours or days. However, the two captives the militants executed were killed several hours after previous deadlines.
Afghan National Army helicopters on Wednesday dropped leaflets in Ghazni province
-- where the Koreans were kidnapped and are being held -- warning people of an upcoming military operation in the area.
"The Defense Ministry wants to launch a military operation in the area," the leaflets said. "In order for you to be safe and not be affected by the operation, we call on you to move to secure government-controlled areas."
The leaflets did not say when or where the operation would be launched. It also was not clear whether the planned operation was aimed at freeing the hostages. A Defense Ministry spokesman said he had no immediate comment.
The South Koreans were kidnapped while riding a bus July 19 on the Kabul-Kandahar highway. They are the largest group of foreign hostages taken in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that drove the Taliban from power.
[Associated Press;
by Amir Shah]
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