Taliban militants set free three out of 19 South Korean hostages held six week ago on Wednesday, Taliban's spokesman Qari Yusuuf Ahmadi said.
"Three female hostages were handed over to tribal elders in Qalai Qazi village in the outskirt of Ghazni city minutes ago and now they are free," Ahmadi said from an unknown location.
A few more hostages would be set free later Wednesday, he added.
The hostage release took place in the wake of several days of face-to-face intensive talks between South Korean delegation and Taliban fighters who agreed to release the hostages held six weeks ago following an agreement on Tuesday.
Earlier the militants linked the hostages release to the release of their prisoners from Afghan government prisons. But Kabul refused to accept the demand.
However, the South Korean government accepted Taliban demands which include the withdrawal of 200-strong South Korean forces and shutting down the offices of its aid agencies in the post-Taliban nation.
Twenty-three South Korean missionaries, including 18 women, were captured by Taliban insurgents more than six weeks ago. Two hostages had been killed and two females were released earlier.
Source: Xinhua
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