Taliban rebels in Afghanistan Thursday released the last seven South Korean hostages - four women and three men - they had been holding for the past six weeks, reported the Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa. Declaring "this drama is over," Ghazni province governor Mahrajuddin Patan confirmed an earlier announcement by the rebels that they had released the seven. "All have been released and this drama is over," Mehrajuddin Patan governor of Ghazni province told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, while Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousif Ahamdi said the seven were handed over to tribal elders, and on to the International Red Cross. A spokesman at the South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's offoce said the seven, plus the 12 hostages released on Wednesday, would all be flown home via Dubai over the coming weekend. They were among a group of 23 who were abducted on July 19. The 12 freed Wednesday - 10 women and two men - were let free in three separate groups in three different districts of Ghazni province.
