The Taleban militant group has agreed to release 19 South Korean hostages held in Afghanistan for nearly six weeks.
Taleban representatives say the hostages will be freed in the coming days.
A South Korean presidential spokesman, Cheon Ho-sun says the deal was reached after Seoul agreed to withdraw 200 of its troops from Afghanistan by year's end and suspend missionary work in the country. He says it could be some time before the hostages are released.
The Taleban's conditions for the release did not include a previous demand for a prisoner exchange.
Taleban militants abducted the 23 South Koreans as they traveled by bus to southern Afghanistan as part of a Christian aid group. The militants released two female hostages earlier this month but executed two male hostages last month and threatened to kill the rest if the Afghan government did not release Taleban prisoners. Kabul rejected a prisoner swap.
In other news, the U.S.-led coalition says more than 100 suspected Taleban militants were killed Tuesday during a battle involving air strikes in southern Afghanistan.
At least four coalition soldiers were wounded in the fighting, including one Afghan.
A coalition statement says a joint force of U.S. and Afghan troops was ambushed by Taleban insurgents in Kandahar district. The statement says military aircraft were later called in and assisted in destroying several rebel positions.
Also Tuesday, three NATO soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body near a group of troops in eastern Afghanistan.
Taleban representatives say the hostages will be freed in the coming days.
A South Korean presidential spokesman, Cheon Ho-sun says the deal was reached after Seoul agreed to withdraw 200 of its troops from Afghanistan by year's end and suspend missionary work in the country. He says it could be some time before the hostages are released.
The Taleban's conditions for the release did not include a previous demand for a prisoner exchange.
Taleban militants abducted the 23 South Koreans as they traveled by bus to southern Afghanistan as part of a Christian aid group. The militants released two female hostages earlier this month but executed two male hostages last month and threatened to kill the rest if the Afghan government did not release Taleban prisoners. Kabul rejected a prisoner swap.
In other news, the U.S.-led coalition says more than 100 suspected Taleban militants were killed Tuesday during a battle involving air strikes in southern Afghanistan.
At least four coalition soldiers were wounded in the fighting, including one Afghan.
A coalition statement says a joint force of U.S. and Afghan troops was ambushed by Taleban insurgents in Kandahar district. The statement says military aircraft were later called in and assisted in destroying several rebel positions.
Also Tuesday, three NATO soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body near a group of troops in eastern Afghanistan.