There are reports of a military build up in Ghazni province
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The authorities in Afghanistan have dropped leaflets to the
south-west of the capital, Kabul, warning people of a possible military
operation there.
The warning was issued in Ghazni province, where 23 South Koreans were taken by the Taleban two weeks ago.
The BBC correspondent in Kabul says there has been a
military build up but reports of an operation being launched to free
the hostages have been denied.
Two of the Christian aid workers were killed earlier this week.
The Taleban are threatening more deaths unless their demands are met for the release of eight government-held prisoners.
Brinkmanship continues
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has exchanged prisoners
for hostages before, but the government has made it clear this is no
longer the policy.
The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says there have
been house searches, a leaflet drop warning locals of forthcoming
operations and troops building up in Ghazni province.
However, he says that earlier reports - quoting a
district chief - of a military operation having been launched to free
the hostages appears to be false.
The South Korean government has been opposed to direct
action from the start but the negotiations have so far failed to bring
the hostage crisis to an end.
Our correspondent says the troop presence may well be a tactic to try to bring the crisis to a peaceful conclusion.
Deadlines have been set that have passed but the stand-off and brinkmanship continues.
Bodies discovered
The Korean Christian aid workers - 18 of them women -
were seized on 19 July as they travelled on a bus down the Kabul to
Kandahar highway.
Shim Sung-min, 29, was the second South Korean hostage killed
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The aid workers' leader, Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, was the first to be shot
dead by the militants. His death was reported over the weekend.
On Tuesday, South Korea confirmed that a second hostage had been killed - 29-year-old Shim Sung-min, a former IT worker.
Meanwhile, the bodies of four Afghan judges who were
kidnapped a day after the South Koreans, have been found in Ghazni
province.
The bodies were discovered on Tuesday night in Dehyak
district, an official told the BBC. The Taleban have claimed
responsibility for the killings.
