A Spanish man kidnapped by an armed group in the turbulent Algeria-Mali border region was heading home on Wednesday as Madrid confirmed his liberation.

Algerian authorities on Wednesday handed over freed Spanish hostage Gilbert Navarro to Spanish officials in a ceremony at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Algiers.

A Spanish man kidnapped by an armed group in the turbulent Algeria-Mali border area thanked the Algerian authorities on Wednesday after his rescue.

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.

A Tuareg rebel alliance in northern Mali has released a Spanish man kidnapped in North Africa on Jan. 17, two of the group's spokesmen said late on Monday.

The Spaniard landed at the Boufarik military base, south of the capital on a flight from Algeria's southernmost Tin Zaoutine commune.

A Spanish man has been kidnapped in North Africa, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, without providing details.

Spain’s foreign ministry says that a Spanish man has been kidnapped in an unspecified northern African country.

Gilbert Navarro, who was kidnapped in southern Algeria last week, was released after a coalition of separatists in Mali negotiated his release.

A Spanish man has been kidnapped in North Africa in unclear circumstances, Madrid said Friday, adding it was working to secure his release.

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