June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Yemen said six of the nine foreigners kidnapped last week during a picnic in the northern Saada province are alive, and security forces are hunting the captors, the official Saba news agency reported.

The bodies of three women were found yesterday in the Safra district, a known al-Qaeda refuge to the east of where the group was seized on June 12. The women were identified as Rita Stewjab, 25, Amita Julie, 25, both of whom were German nurses, and 22-year-old Youvet Singhum, a South Korean teacher, according to Saba.

The remaining hostages include a German doctor and his wife, their three children, and a British engineer, Saba said, without naming any of them. Some initial reports yesterday indicated all except two of the hostages had been killed.

Yemen has announced a state of high alert and said in an e- mailed statement that security officials were “conducting extensive searches and investigations.” The government in Saana, which has faced a growing problem with al-Qaeda-backed terrorism, instead blamed followers of Hussein al-Houthi for the attack, a claim denied by the Shiite Muslim rebel group that has been leading an uprising for about five years.

The kidnapping and murders are the latest in a string of attacks against Westerners in the impoverished nation. More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Yemen in the past 15 years, according to a tally by the British Broadcasting Corp. Most were released unharmed after being taken by tribesmen to pressure the government to free jailed clan members.

The most recent confirmed kidnapping occurred on March 31, when two Dutch expatriates were abducted outside the capital, Sanaa. They were released unharmed two weeks later.

Threat of Terrorism

The U.K. Foreign Office advises against non-essential travel to Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden’s family, due to the threat of terrorism and tribal violence, and says travelers should avoid places frequented by foreigners.

The adults seized on June 12 all worked for World Wide Services Foundation, a Dutch international relief group that has been helping the medical sector in Saada for 30 years.

The bodies of Julie, Stewjab and Singhum were transported by a helicopter to Sanaa from where they will be repatriated, Saba said. German officials haven’t confirmed the deaths of their nationals, while the government in Seoul expressed anger and shock over the death of one its citizens.

To contact the reporter on this story: Caroline Alexander in London at calexander1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 16, 2009 04:02 EDT