MADRID/OUGADOUGOU, (Reuters) – Two Spanish aid workers held by al Qaeda’s North African wing returned to Barcelona after being freed yesterday, ending a kidnapping that lasted nearly nine months.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) seized Albert Vilalta and Roque Pascual while they were travelling through Mauritania with a relief aid convoy last November, the latest in a string of abductions claimed by the group.
The two landed at Barcelona’s El Prat airport at about 2330 GMT, where they were met by family, friends, and colleagues, including Alicia Gamez, who was kidnapped with them and released in March.
“It’s a great day for Roque and for me. It’s a really important day for us as we have been kidnapped for nine months in tough conditions but now we are free. I am very happy,” said Vilalta in comments to the press at the airport.
