Taliban Releases Three Female South Korean Hostages

Taliban militants freed three female South Korean hostages on Wednesday, following the announcement on Tuesday that all 19 of the Christian volunteers would be freed in exchange for the withdrawal of South Korean troops from Afghanistan.

The women were almost completely covered by traditional headscarves when they were handed over to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ghazni province.

According to Taliban representative Qari Mohammad Bashir, seven more hostages would be freed on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

Family members cried out with joy and hugged one another when they were told of the hostages' imminent release on Tuesday.

After the initial euphoria, the relatives later apologised to the nation for the trouble that the Saemmul Church had caused to South Korea by sending the team of young and mainly female Christian volunteers into one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

The team of medical volunteers originally numbered 23. In the six weeks since they were abducted from a main road south of Kabul last month, two male hostages were killed by captors, while two female members were released earlier in the month as a "gesture of goodwill".

The release of the remaining 19 hostages caps weeks of on-off negotiations between the Taliban and South Korean officials, which appeared in deadlock just days before.

"The families are rejoicing at the news. They are busy calling other family members and friends at the moment to pass on the news," Bang Yong-kyun, pastor at Saemmul Church, told Reuters.

"We knew the negotiation process was turning favourable, but we never thought it would happen so soon," a spokesman for the hostage families, Cha Sung-min, told reporters.

"When the announcement came out, there was a commotion in the room as everyone hugged each other."

Pastor Bang shared the excitement felt by all the relatives at the prospect of their loved one returning home.

"We will do what we weren't able to do during the incident. We found out that the everyday routines were the most precious moments. Eating breakfast together or having slices of fruit after dinner," he said.

"Those insignificant things are what we treasure the most."