Journalists released in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A British journalist and a Spanish photographer have been freed by Somali kidnappers after being held for 40 days in caves, officials said.

The Guardian reported Monday that Colin Freeman, a Sunday Telegraph correspondent, and Jose Cendon were abducted in the northern Puntland region in November while reporting on piracy. They were released Sunday.

Freeman said they were "absolutely fine" and had suffered no injuries during captivity.

"We survived on rice, goat meat and Rothmans," Freeman was quoted as saying. "I gave up smoking in 1992 and somehow decided now would be a good time to start up again."

The Guardian reported that the circumstances of the pair's release remains unclear.

Officials said local elders had secured the journalists' freedom and that no money had changed hands. However, reporters in the port city of Bossaso, where the men were kidnapped, claimed a large ransom was paid.