QALA-E-QAZI, Afghanistan, August 29, SPA -- Taliban 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 three, 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 Associated Press 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 Associated Press reported.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/478324