Hudur,(insidesomalia.org)- Reports from Hudur district southwestern Somalia say that the UN Swedish and Danish aid workers were working for UN de-mine agency have been freed by the captors after hours of hostage officials said.

After they were freed small plane has taken the aid workers to Baidoa town the seat of the Somali government to Nairobi.

Somali gunmen in the Bakool region of southern Somalia abducted the aid workers on Saturday.

"One was Danish, Noefolk Nelson, and the other Swedish, Ulf Felink," a U.N. Department of Security and Safety worker who asked not to be named told Shabelle.

"They were both mine risk education project officers, though the Swedish man was more senior. They have been in the area for the last 3 days and were planning to establish a centre for Mine Action for UNDP (the United Nations Development Program) in the Bakool region," he added.

Local resident Farah Ismail said the men were kidnapped by heavily armed Islamist militants following an attack on the town of Hudur.

Another resident, Mohamed Dahir, said the foreign captives had been driven away, heading towards Bardale district, an Islamist stronghold 60 km (37 miles) southwest of Baidoa.

"I saw the Islamists heading to Bardale ... I saw the foreigners in cars surrounded by Islamist fighters," Dahir said.

A Somali man working as a translator for the International Medical Corps was also abducted, residents said.