A GROUP of 14 European tourists held hostage for up to six months were today freed by their captors, officials in the northern Malian town of Gao said, amid a report that a ransom had been paid.
The officials said the nine Germans, four Swiss and a Dutchman, abducted by a suspected Islamic extremist group, were released in the town of Tessalit in the northeastern region of Kidal.
Germany's public ZDF television reported that it followed a payment to the kidnappers yesterday of a ransom, although the station said the money did not come from the German government.
According to ZDF, a German air force transport plane is to fly the tourists from a military airport in northern Mali to the capital Bamako where they will undergo medical checks.
Juergen Chrobog, a German foreign ministry state secretary, arrived earlier today in Bamako and spoke confidently of the hostages' imminent release.
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6987424%255E1702,00.html
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