Two French journalists held hostage in Iraq for the last four months were freed on Tuesday.
A militant group in Iraq said the French journalists held since August had been released, the Arab-language Al-Jazeera satellite TV reported. The French Foreign Ministry in Paris confirmed the news of their release, reports Xinhua.
Christian Chesnot of Radio France Internationale and Georges Malbrunot of Le Figaro newspaper were kidnapped on August 20 by a group calling itself the "Islamic Army of Iraq" when heading to the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, together with their Arab driver.
French president Jacques Chirac expressed his "joy" over the release and said he will break off his Christmas vacation in Morocco and return to Paris to greet the journalists.