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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Al-Qaeda 'releases Swiss hostage' | 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, reports say. | A Swiss man held hostage for six months by members of al-Qaeda in Mali has been freed, reports 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 hostage has been freed, he is very tired, and will soon be reunited with his family," a source close to local authorities in the north of the country told the French news agency AFP. | |
| It was not immediately clear if a ransom had been paid to secure Mr Greiner's release. | |
| Mr Greiner and his wife were seized, along with four other tourists, near the Mali border on 22 January. | |
| His wife, Gabriella Barco Greiner, was released by the hostage-takers in April. |