Taliban will free S Korean hostages -Taliban emissary

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Aug 28 (Reuters) Taliban insurgents have agreed to free 19 South Korean hostages they have been holding for nearly six weeks, a Taliban negotiator said today.

South Korean negotiators had agreed to a set of Taliban demands as part of a deal for the release of the hostages, said the Taliban representative, Qari Mohammad Bashir.

But the Taliban demands did not include their main previous condition -- the release of a group of militants held prisoner by the Afghan government.

REUTERS LPB BST2014