Columbian military frees Betancourt

Fifteen hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three US military contractors, have been freed, the Army said tonight.

Colombia’s Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos made the announcement at a news conference tonight.

Betancourt had been held by leftist guerrillas in the jungle for years.

Mr Santos said no one was hurt in today's operation in eastern Colombia.

He said army commandos captured rebels manning a security ring around the hostages and got them to persuade their comrades to turn over the captives, without any loss of life.

Mr Santos says the other 11 hostages freed were Colombian soldiers and police.

In France tonight, Lorenzo Delloye-Betancourt, the son of Colombian-French Betancourt, said her release after six years of captivity was, ``if true, the most beautiful news of my life''.

Mr Delloye-Betancourt told France-Info radio he was “really surprised and happy” although he was waiting for more information about the release.

Betancourt holds dual Colombian and French citizenship and has become a cause celebre in France, where President Nicolas Sarkozy has pushed for her release.

Betancourt was kidnapped while campaigning for the Colombian presidency in 2002.

Betancourt, the Americans Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, and the other hostages were taken to a military base.