BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — 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, or FLA, a coalition of separatist armed groups in Mali’s predominately Tuareg north, said on X that it freed Spanish citizen Gilbert Navarro.

A Spanish man kidnapped by an armed group in the turbulent Algeria-Mali border area thanked the Algerian authorities on Wednesday after his rescue. Identified as Joaquin Navarro, the Spaniard had been on a trip last week when he was kidnapped "by an armed group made up of five people",

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.

Local media claimed that a Spanish tourist had been captured by ISIS terrorists in Alegria and taken across the border into the neighbouring country of Mali.

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

Navarro was abducted last week while traveling in the area, known for ongoing instability and militant activity. His safe return was confirmed on Tuesday when Algerian national television aired footage of his arrival at a military airport near Algiers.

General Lounes Magramane (center), Spain's Ambassador to Algeria Fernando Morán Calvo-Sotelo (left), and Spanish tourist Navarro Giane Gilbert