Foreign Minister Dipu Moni says the workers were freed Tuesday morning following negotiations by local village elders. The workers were among seven Bangladeshis abducted in December from their workplace near the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

One Bangladeshi man died in the attack, and two were released two days after the abduction.

Moni said in Dhaka that the five freed workers are expected to return to Bangladesh within a week or so.