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| Al-Qaeda releases Swiss hostage | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A Swiss man held hostage for six months by members of al-Qaeda in Mali has been freed, Swiss and Malian officials say. | |
| Werner Greiner - seized in Niger - is the last of six Western hostages held by a group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb. | Werner Greiner - seized in Niger - is the last of six Western hostages held by a group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb. |
| In May, the group announced on a website that it had killed British hostage Edwin Dyer. | In May, the group announced on a website that it had killed British hostage Edwin Dyer. |
| The group had been demanding the release of radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada from a UK prison. | The group had been demanding the release of radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada from a UK prison. |
| "The Swiss Foreign Ministry learnt with joy that the efforts towards the liberation of the last Swiss hostage in Mali have been successful," the ministry said in a statement. | |
| The ministry statement said the man - whom they did not name - was receiving medical treatment in Mali, adding he would shortly be flown back to Switzerland to rest. | |
| It was not immediately clear if a ransom had been paid to secure Mr Greiner's release, which was also confirmed by a spokesman for the president of Mali. | |
| Mr Greiner and his wife were seized, along with two other tourists, near the Mali border on 22 January. | |
| His wife, Gabriella Barco Greiner, was released by the hostage-takers in April. |