KABUL, 19 August 2007 — An armed man walked into a fast food restaurant in the Afghan capital and abducted a German woman at midday yesterday, officials said, as a Taleban spokesman said talks to free 19 South Korean hostages have failed.

The abduction of the German woman, who works for a small Christian aid organization, prompted police in Kabul to shoot at a speeding getaway car, killing a nearby taxi driver.

The assailants had pulled up to a barbecue and fast food restaurant in a dark gray Toyota Corolla, and one of the men went inside and asked to order a pizza, said intelligence officials investigating the incident.

They said two other men waited outside, while another remained in the car.

The man in the restaurant pulled out a pistol, walked up to a table where the woman was sitting with her boyfriend, and took her from the restaurant, the officials said on condition of anonymity because of government policy.

Ahmad Fahim, who works in a nearby bakery, said that the driver had his face covered, and that the German man called for help as his girlfriend was taken away. “The man was shouting ‘Police! Police!”’ and was frantically making calls on his mobile phone, Fahim said. Police spotted the speeding car and opened fire but missed, hitting a nearby taxi and killing its driver.

The woman works for the Christian aid organization Ora International, a man affiliated with the group said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. He did not disclose the woman’s name.

The motive behind the abduction of the German woman was not clear, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

Earlier in the day, armed men seized four Afghan engineers in the southern province of Kandahar, provincial police said. Tribal elders of the area have promised to secure the release of the engineers, they said.

The latest incidents come amid heightened fears of abductions, after 23 South Koreans and two Germans were taken hostage in separate incidents last month in central Afghanistan.

One of the German men has been shot dead. The other remains in captivity.

Taleban militants killed two of the South Koreans and released two others after face-to-face talks with South Korean officials.

Taleban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the group’s demands for the release of the remaining 19 South Koreans remains the same: a swap for Taleban prisoners, which the Afghan government has ruled out.

“The negotiations failed because we have presented them (the South Korean delegates) with our list of 23 people we want to be released, but the Korean delegation said, ‘We cannot fulfill your demands,”’ Ahmadi said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

“We’re still ready for more negotiations if the Korean side is willing to meet our demands... the exchange of prisoners,” he said.