4 Oct 2009

Aid workers released in Somalia

7:30 am on 4 October 2009

Three foreign aid workers kidnapped in Kenya by Somali gunmen three months ago have been freed.

The French agency Action Against Hunger told the BBC they were being flown to Nairobi from Somalia. They are said to be in good health.

It was not clear if a ransom was paid for their release.

The agency workers were kidnapped by 10 gunmen from their office in Mandera, a remote area on the Kenyan border, on 18 July.

The BBC reports aid workers and journalists in the area are particular targets for kidnappers and are often released after ransoms are paid.

Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991.