Yemen: Abducted Italian freed and 'coming home'

Sanaa, 3 Aug. (AKI) - The Italian paramilitary policeman kidnapped in the Yemeni capital Sanaa earlier this week has been freed, according to Italian foreign minister Giulio Terzi.

"Alessandro Spadotto is coming home," Terzi said early Friday in a Twitter message.

The 29-year-old Carabiniere police was released late Thursday. The Italian government worked together with Yemen and tribal leaders to guarantee Spadotto's release following his abduction while hopping in civilian clothing in an area of Sanaa close to the Italian embassy, where he heads the security detail.

"It's the most beautiful day of my life," Spadotto's mother, Marina Polesel, told Italian television.

Earlier this week, Spadotto's kidnapper, Ali Naser Huraidkan said the Italian would be released soon. The reasons for the abduction were ''personal, between me and the state of Yemen," he said. "The kidnapping of the Italian is a mere exercise of pressure on the Yemeni government."