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Al-Qaeda group frees 2 Spanish aid workers

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAMAKO: Two Spanish aid workers kidnapped almost nine months ago by an Al-Qaeda affiliate have been set free and were en route Monday to the capital of neighboring Burkina Faso, a Spanish official and a diplomatic source said.

The release happened just days after a Malian who was sentenced in Mauritania for the kidnapping was extradited back to his home country. Al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, had demanded his return as a condition for the release of the two aid workers.

The two were due to arrive in Spain by Tuesday, said the official at a Western embassy who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press.

In Madrid, an official in Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's office confirmed the release and said they are now in safe hands. The official gave no other details.

Roque Pascual and Albert Vilalta were kidnapped when their convoy of SUVs was attacked in Mauritania on Nov. 29 while they were delivering supplies to poor villagers. They and a third colleague, Alicia Gamez, were taken to northern Mali, a remote desert area which has become one of the operating bases for AQIM. Gamez was released in March.

The non-governmental organization Barcelona Solidarity Action for whom the two work said it was treating the reports of the hostages' release with guarded optimism until they are confirmed by the government.

Not long after the kidnapping, Mauritanian commandos led a raid in northern Mali where they seized Malian national Omar Ould Sid Ahmed Ould Hama, who goes by the alias Omar Sahraoui. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Mauritanian judge for the kidnappings.

The embassy official said AQIM had demanded Sahraoui's return as a condition of the release of the aid workers. He was extradited to Mali on Aug. 15.

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