ADEN (Yemen), Jan 6: Yemeni tribesmen freed five Italian tourists on Friday after holding them for almost a week to press authorities to release jailed family members, Yemeni officials said.

Italy’s ambassador to Yemen, Mario Buffo, confirmed that the tourists — two men and three women — were freed unharmed and were expected to fly home soon.

“I am happy, happy, happy. I can’t say anything else at the moment,” Luca Bottillo, the son of Enzo Bottillo who was held hostage with his partner Patrizia Rossi, told Italian news agency ANSA.

The kidnapping on Sunday was the fourth of Westerners in less than two months, and stoked fears of a return to the wave of abductions that swept Yemen several years ago.

“The mediation efforts worked. They were freed unharmed,” a Yemeni official said, denying Arab media reports that the hostages had been freed during a military offensive.

Security officials said the kidnappers, from the Zaidi tribe, had surrendered to the authorities after five days of negotiations backed by a huge security seige of their hideout.

Yemeni security sources said the hostages had been held at gunpoint.—Reuters