Hijackers of the Afghan airliner Monday afternoon released three more hostages, bringing the number of passengers freed at London's Stansted airport to eight.

The latest release came as negotiations reached what police said was a critical stage.

It leaves 157 passengers and crew on the plane.

Earlier Monday, two men, a woman and two children were allowed off the jet.

Soldiers from Britain's special forces are believed to be at the airport, keeping a close watch on the tense situation.

Supplies of food, drink and medicines have been delivered to those being held captive.

The Boeing 727 was hijacked Sunday by at least six armed men during an internal flight in Afghanistan.

Hijackers are believed to be demanding the release of an opposition leader, Ismail Khan, held by the Taleban authorities.

But Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul that they will not give in. He said that while the British authorities were free to negotiate with the hijackers, the Taleban itself would not give in to any of their demands.

The Ariana plane touched down at Stansted shortly following 0200 GMT, after flying from Moscow, where it had spent four hours on the ground.

At Stansted, the plane is sitting in a secure area to the north of the airport, about half a mile away from the main terminals.

It had been on an internal Afghan flight Sunday from Kabul to the city of Mazar-e-Sharif. But, after being seized, it landed twice in Central Asia, where at least 10 passengers, including

women and children, were released, and the plane was refueled.

Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, the Taleban's minister for civil aviation and tourism, said the UK authorities should end the hijack by storming the plane.

"They can do it as they have past experience. They can separate the crew and the passengers and bring the hijackers to their knees.If not, then they should allow us to do it," he said.

Mansoor said the Taleban did not know who the hijackers were, or their demands, and said it would not negotiate with the hijackers.

Stansted, which has been the scene of several similar incidents in the past, has well-rehearsed procedures for dealing with hijack situations.

British police said it was still too early to be optimistic on the situation.

"It is too soon to talk about any demands. The policing priority is the safe release of everybody on board the craft.

Lives are at risk here," said Charles Clark, deputy chief constable of Essex who is in charge of the case.