Officials in Yemen reportedly confirmed that at least three German women out of nine foreign nationals who went missing last Friday have been found dead.
A group of seven Germans, one Briton, and a Korean representing an international relief organization are believed to have gone for a walk in Saada, some 200-kilometers north of the capital Sanna, before they disappeared.
While the AFP news agency reported that seven bodies were found, with the exception of the two children still missing, none of the bodies' identities have been confirmed, including the Korean woman.
Seoul's foreign ministry has identified the Korean hostage as a 34-year-old teacher referred to only by her last name Eom and has been closely cooperating with officials in Germany, the United Kingdom and Yemen to locate the missing group.
The Associated Press says the bodies were discovered by locals early Monday in an area known to be occupied by al-Qaeda.
Following speculation that the vanished group was possibly kidnapped for ransom, the Yemeni government accused a Shiite rebel group called Huthi Zaidi that has been fighting against the government for the past five years.
But the rebel group has denied such accusations.
The Korean embassy in Yemen has said that there have been four kidnapping cases involving foreign nationals in the country this year and that all 30 hostages have been released unharmed within three weeks.
Choi You-sun, Arirang News.
JUN 15, 2009
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Friday, SEP 03, 2010, (KST) 
