UPDATE: Remaining Korean Hostages Released by Taliban
(Ghazni, Afghanistan)?According to a Reuters News report, the Taliban freed the remaining seven hostages from their six-week captivity at the hands of the terrorist organization.
A Reuters witness described the release, "I can see one Korean man and two women getting inside an ICRC car. That is it, there are no more Korean hostages."
Reporters were not allowed to speak with the hostages, Reuters said.
Seoul had already decided, before the kidnapping, to end the deployment.
(August 29th)
(Afghanistan)?Taliban rebels in Afghanistan have freed 12 South Korean hostages from a group of 19 they have been holding for five weeks, according to BBC, CNN and France 24 TV reports.
Three female hostages were released first, in the central town of Ghazni. Four women and one man were later freed a few miles away, in the Shabaz area of Ghazni province. All eight are said to be in good health.
Another four of the hostages have since been released, according to France 24TV.
The Koreans, who work for a Christian charity, were kidnapped on 19 July as they traveled on a motorway. There were originally 23 missionaries in the group, but two men, including their pastor-leader, were killed by the Taliban.
The BBC says the first eight hostages were released with the mediation of tribal elders in two separate locations. They were handed over to officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross and were then taken to meet South Korean government officials in Ghazni.
Haji Zahir, a tribal elder who has been acting as a mediator, told the BBC he and two other elders had traveled to meet the Taliban and bring the first three women by car to Ghazni.
The releases come a day after the South Korean government said it had reached a deal with the Taliban. South Korea has agreed to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, as [already] scheduled, by the end of the year. It also said it would end all missionary work in the country and stop its citizens from traveling there.
The Taliban appear to have dropped their earlier demand that Taliban members be released from Afghan prisons in exchange for the hostages' freedom, the BBC said.
A Taliban representative, Mullah Basheer, said all 19 would be released "step by step" in the coming week.
"One of our main demands has not been accepted, but our other demands were welcomed. All of the Koreans will be released in less than a week," Basheer said. The militants kidnapped 23 South Koreans on 19 July as they traveled by bus on the main Kandahar to Kabul highway. They subsequently killed two male hostages and later freed two women following a first round of talks.
The hostages are thought to be held in several different locations in Ghazni province.
Some 200 South Korean non-combat personnel are deployed in the country to help with reconstruction efforts. Seoul had already decided, before the kidnapping, to end the deployment.
CNN, quoting the Associated Press (AP) said Taliban militants released three South Korean hostages on Wednesday, the first of 19 captives scheduled to be freed under a deal struck between the insurgents and the South Korean government.
The first three hostages released, all women, were first handed to tribal leaders, who took them to an agreed location where officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross picked them up, according to an AP reporter who witnessed the handover.
The three arrived in the central Afghan village of Qala-E-Qazi in a single car, their heads covered with green shawls. They said nothing to reporters, who were asked by Red Cross representatives not to question them.
Red Cross officials quickly took the three to their vehicles before leaving for an undisclosed location, the AP said.
The hostages' relatives in South Korea welcomed news of the deal. "I would like to dance," said Cho Myung-ho, mother of 28-year-old hostage Lee Joo-yeon.
CNN reported that South Korean presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-sun said the deal had been reached "on the condition that South Korea withdraws troops by the end of the year and South Korea suspends missionary work in Afghanistan."
Cha Sung-min, whose 32-year-old sister, Cha Hye-jin, was among the hostages, said he was "sorry to the public for causing concern, but we thank the government officials for the (impending) release."
"Still, our hearts are broken as two died, so we convey our sympathy to the bereaved family members," said Cha Sung-min, who has served as a spokesman for the hostages' relatives.
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