Spanish hostage Gilbert Navarro, kidnapped in North Africa, has been freed by the Tuareg rebel alliance in northern Mali. He was expected to arrive at Algeria's Boufarik air base. The Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed his release but did not comment on the circumstances of his kidnapping.

BAMAKO, Mali -- A rebel alliance in Mali said Tuesday it has freed a Spanish man who was kidnapped in southern Algeria last week. The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a coalition of separatist armed groups in Mali's predominately Tuareg north, said on the social media platform X that it freed Spanish citizen Gilbert Navarro.

A plane carrying Spanish hostage Gilbert Navarro, who was kidnapped in North Africa on Jan. 17, was expected to land in Algeria's Boufarik air base, Algerian state media reported on Tuesday. His expected arrival at the Algerian air base comes after a Tuareg rebel alliance in northern Mali said late on Monday they had released Navarro.