15 European tourists released in Algeria

The last 15 European tourists held by an armed group in the Algerian Sahara desert for up to three months have been freed, security sources said Monday. 

"The remaining kidnapped tourists are free," one military source in the southern desert town of Illizi told Reuters on Monday. Another Algerian source and a Western diplomat confirmed it. Commandos rescued 17 other tourists last week.  

Another security source told Reuters that a German airliner had arrived in the capital Algiers to collect the 10 Germans who along with four Swiss and a Dutchman had been held hostage. 

The tourists were reportedly kidnapped by members of the Islamic extremist Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). (Albawaba.com)