17 Held Hostage in Africa Return Home

COLOGNE, Germany â€”  Weary but safe, 17 European hostages -- freed when Algerian commandos raided the Sahara Desert hideout of Al Qaeda-linked terrorists -- returned to a bittersweet welcome Wednesday marred by concern for 15 other tourists still held captive.

Six Germans and one Swede arrived in Cologne on a German military plane accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Juergen Chrobog, as well as a doctor and psychologist. Just minutes later, a plane carrying 10 Austrians landed in Salzburg, Austria, where they were reunited with family members.

The 32 desert travelers had gone missing in seven groups beginning Feb. 22, all traveling without guides along a 320-mile highway favored by Western motorcycle tourists through an arid region of rocky plains, canyons and mountains near the Libyan border.

No group ever claimed responsibility for kidnapping them, giving rise to a range of speculation -- from Islamic rebels, smugglers or retaliation for the conviction in Frankfurt of four Algerians who plotted to bomb a French holiday market.

Officials declined to provide details of the rescue but the daily newspaper El Watan reported that the commandos freed the 17 in a dawn raid Tuesday, engaging in a battle that lasted several hours and left nine suspected hostage-takers dead. Their hideout was 1,200 miles south of Algiers.

Salzburg Gov. Franz Schausberger described a scene of overwhelming joy at the city airport.

The hostages “and their relatives were overly happy, and it took some time before they could even talk to each other because they were overcome by emotions,� he said.

Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Weiss said: “They are weak and they have lost weight� but were well after the desert ordeal.

Johannes Kyrle, the secretary general of the Foreign Ministry who traveled on the plane, declined to give any details about the hostages’ ordeal, saying: “We are showing solidarity to the 15 who are still in Algeria.�

In Germany, some of the hostages leaned heavily on the handrail as they left the plane. Axel Mantey, 30, was the first to emerge, sporting a beard and wearing an Arab robe. He was followed by his girlfriend Melanie Simon, 25, in a bright pink robe, carrying a bouquet of flowers.

All seven -- five men and two women -- boarded a bus on the tarmac, but did not talk to reporters. No family members were seen, as officials sought to keep the reunions private.