ALGIERS, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Algerian Defense Ministry announced late on Tuesday the reception of a Spanish hostage who had been kidnapped in the south of the country, near the border with Mali.

The ministry said in a statement that army security services received Spanish citizen Gilbert Navarro, and confirmed that he was safe and sound.

Navarro, who was on a tourist trip, was abducted on Jan. 14 in the Algerian-Malian border region, within Algeria's 6th Military Region, by an armed group of five individuals, the statement said.

Navarro's release was announced earlier Tuesday by the Azawad Liberation Front, a coalition of Tuareg separatist groups in northern Mali.

Following his release, Navarro was flown from the Tin Zouatin Airport in southern Algeria on a private aircraft to the Boufarik military airbase, 40 km south of Algiers, according to the ministry. Enditem

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