Two Spanish aid workers who were held hostage by Al-Qaeda in Mali since November have been freed.

The two men were reportedly released around noon on Sunday and went toward the Burkina Faso border where they were met by Spanish representatives and flown by helicopter to the capital, Ouagadougou.

The Spanish government confirmed that the two men had been freed through a spokesperson.

"I can confirm the two men are safe and sound," the spokesperson told the AFP news agency on Monday. "The two hostages have been freed."

Albert Vilalta and Roque Pascual, who had been working for the NGO Accio Solidaria,

were kidnapped in November along with another Spaniard in Mauritania, north of the capital Nouakchott. Alicia Gamez was freed in March.

Francesco Osan, director of Accio Solidaria, said the two men they were now in a "safe area" and would arrive by plane in Barcelona Monday night.

A Malian official said earlier that radical cell of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) was threatening the lives of the two Spaniards.

The release of the two Spaniards comes after last week's transfer of Omar Sid'Ahmed Ould Hamma, the Aqim-affiliated mastermind of their kidnapping, from Mauritania to Mali.

Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo reported that the Spanish government also paid a 3.8 million euro ransom for their release.

Different branches of Aqim have taken hostages and executed two in recent months, including French aid worker Michel Germaneau in July.

Relations between the neighbouring countries have been strained, with Mauritania accusing Mali of being soft on Aqim after it released four prisoners in exchange for French hostage Pierre Camatte in February.