Two foreign journalists, held for more than 15 months in the restive Somali capital Mogadishu, have been released, reports say

The two journalists, Canadian Amanda Lindhout and her Australian colleague Nigel Brennan were seized on August 2008 along with their Somali guards and driver while passing southwest of Mogadishu.

Somali police spokesman Col. Abdullahi Hassan Barise confirmed that the two journalists are safe and sound and currently in a Mogadishu hotel, waiting to jet out of the war-torn country.

He said top Somali officials including influential lawmakers have played major roles in securing the release of the hostages, refusing to comment about any ransom payment.

However, Somali sources said the captors received USD$1 million in ending one the longest hostage-taking incident in the war-torn country.

The two journalists have previously tried to escape and hide inside a mosque in one of Mogadishu's neighbourhoods but their abductors caught them again.

Somalia, which has been marred by years of civil strife, is rated one of the most dangerous countries for journalists and aid workers with Somali armed groups targeting them for ransom.