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 region was heading home on Wednesday as Madrid confirmed his liberation.

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",

Algeria’s Defense Ministry reported late Tuesday that Spanish tourist Gilbert Navarro, kidnapped earlier this month near the country’s southern border with Mali, has been safely recovered. According to the ministry, Navarro was handed over to the army’s security services and is unharmed.

A coalition of separatists in Mali, the Azawad Liberation Front, on Tuesday said it had freed a Spanish national kidnapped by a group of bandits in Algeria. The kidnappers had hoped to sell him to the Islamic State (IS) group in Mali but were stopped before they could hand him over.