Agreement reached; French tourists freed

? Four French tourists kidnapped in Yemen were freed Monday after more than two weeks in captivity, the French foreign minister said.

Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy spoke to journalists in Paris about the release of the four, but gave few details. “To my knowledge, they are in good health,” he said.

Yemeni Legislator Awad Ibnalwazeer said the four Frenchmen were handed over to him Monday morning in a mountainous area in Shabwa province, east of the capital, San’a.

He said the four were transported by helicopter to a military base in San’a, where they were received by French diplomats.

“After hard and tiring negotiations throughout the night, an agreement was reached to free the hostages,” Ibnalwazeer told The Associated Press by telephone. He did not reveal the terms of the agreement.