Long-Held Hostage Freed in Mali

Good news from Mali, where Werner Greiner, the last of a group of European tourists kidnapped in Niger in January of this year, and then moved to Mali by their Al Qaeda abductors, has been freed at last. Via BBC:

A Swiss man held hostage for six months by members of al-Qaeda in Mali has been freed, Swiss and Malian officials say.

Werner Greiner - seized in Niger - is the last of six Western hostages held by a group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb.

In May, the group announced on a website that it had killed British hostage Edwin Dyer.

The group had been demanding the release of radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada from a UK prison.

"The Swiss Foreign Ministry learnt with joy that the efforts towards the liberation of the last Swiss hostage in Mali have been successful," the ministry said in a statement.

Mr. Greiner was abducted along with his wife Gabriella and fellow tourists Marianne Petzold and Edwin Dyer January 22 while visiting Niger. The two women were freed in April while Mr. Dyer was beheaded in May.

Thank God for the end of this ordeal. Please continue to pray for all the remaining hostages on our prayer list and those known only to God.