Two Spanish released after held captive for nine months by al Qaeda

Albert Vilalta and Rogue Pascual were kidnapped while travelling through Mauritania last year, with a relief convoy. They were the latest in a string of abductions by the al Qaeda Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The two landed at El Prat airport in Barcelona at around 1.30 am. They were greeted by family, friends and colleagues, including another abducted victim released in March, Alicia Gamez.

"It's a great day for Roque and for me. It's a really important day for us as we have been kidnapped for nine months in tough conditions but now we are free. I am very happy," said Vilalta, "They have treated us well - we have lived like they have, we've eaten like they have, we've slept like they have. But it was very hard in the middle of the desert, they are used to it, but we're not," he added.

Spain has come to be one of the main targets of the AQIM because it is an ally of the United States and also part of Nato. A Spanish newspaper said that Spain had worked to meet some of the demands for the soldiers’ release. Last month, a 78-year old French hostage, Michel Germameau was killed after a raid in desert where French troops failed to free him.

EU Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said yesterday that aid workers were being targeted more than UN peacekeepers, with a death toll last year that rose to 102.

"We cannot continue down this road," she said, promising the EU would present to the UN General Assembly in September a draft resolution on safety and security of aid workers.