Seven hostages thought to be among nine foreigners kidnapped in the Saada area of north Yemen have been found dead, a government and a tribal source have said.

The foreigners - seven Germans, a Briton and a Korean - were abducted last week.

"We have found the corpses of seven people who were kidnapped. Two children captured with the group were found alive," a security official said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but officials blamed members of al-Huthi group, a secessionist movement which has been fighting the government since 2004, for the abductions.

Kidnappings of Western tourists or workers is fairly common in Yemen with most incidents resolved peacefully in exchange for ransom or concessions from authorities.

Yemeni tribesmen in Saada on Friday released a group of 24 doctors and nurses whom they abducted a day earlier, demanding the authorities release two prisoners.