8 hostages released in Afghanistan: official

About eight Afghan hostages were released on Tuesday after eight months they were seized by militants, the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) said in a statement issued here.

"The personnel of NDS secured the safe release of eight countrymen from kidnappers' clutch on Tuesday morning from Ghazni province. The freed people, including five men, two women and a teenage, will be handed over to their families in their respective provinces," NDS, the country's intelligence agency, said in the statement.

The eight were part of 31 passengers kidnapped in southern Zabul province in late February, according to the statement.

Up to 19 hostages of 31 were released in early May, one victim passed way while the fate of the remaining three passengers still remained unknown.

Although no group has claimed the responsibility for the abduction, security officials didn't rule out the involvement of the Taliban and militants loyal to the extremist outfit of the Islamic State (IS) in the incident.

The release of the hostages came in the wake of brutal beheading of seven civilians by suspected IS militants in Zabul province on Saturday. Enditem