Taliban pledges to release remaining Turkish hostages

After the release of four of eight captives held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, pledged on Monday to release the final four Turkish engineers held hostage since their helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan last month.  Mujahid said in an emailed statement that the four had been released as a goodwill, humanitarian gesture and as a sign of respect to the Muslim people of Turkey and that The other four will be released in the near future. Mujahid made no reference to a Russian, a Kyrgyz national and an Afghan also taken hostage after the crash-landing.