A man appeared on Afghan television on Wednesday claiming to be one of the kidnappers of an Italian aid worker who was abducted earlier this week by an unknown group.

The alleged kidnapper identified himself as Temur Shah. Shah has been in touch with CARE, the organization that Clementina Cantoni was working for in Afghanistan. He stated that if his demands were not met, he would 'finish' Cantoni.

Paul Barker, CARE's Director in Afghanistan told reporters, 'The guy, if he is who we think he is, has blood on his hand from previous incidents.' Barker believes Shah and his associates may be responsible for the kidnapping of three UN workers last year.

Shah made three demands and set a Wednesday evening deadline for them to be met. Among the demands were more support for Islamic boarding schools in Afghanistan, that the government provide alternate ways of making a living for opium farmers who have been forced to stop growing the drug and that a particular television show aimed at young people in Afghanistan be taken off the air.

Shah asserted that his 32-year-old hostage was in bad health and had not eaten in three days. He claimed she has been vomiting and was bleeding internally from injuries suffered during her abduction. This contradicted earlier reports from Afghan government sources who said Cantoni was in good health and that they heard a recording of her over the telephone.

Meanwhile, a rally was held in Kabul by approximately 100 widows who benefit from Cantoni's work with CARE. The widows demanded her release.