A Briton being held hostage in Yemen has been freed by an United Arab Emirates military operation.
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The Foreign Office confirmed the hostage had been freed, with Secretary Philip Hammond thanking the UAE for their help.
Semple is said to have been working on a project in Hadramawt province when he was abducted by armed men in the early hours of 3 February, 2014.
It said UAE forces had freed Semple in a military operation and taken him to Yemen’s main southern city of Aden, from where he was flown to Abu Dhabi.
Kidnapping has long been rife in Yemen, which has been wracked by conflict since March, when a Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
“This action by the UAE forces in Aden is renewed evidence of the UAE’s unchanging policy towards terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations”.
Semple was also able to speak with his wife by phone and and will leave for Britain once all the necessary medical checks are done, the news agency said.
In Cairo, ambassador Mohammad Al Haisami, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the Arab League, praised the UAE’s leadership, government and people for their unwavering support to Yemen.
A statement carried by the UAE’s official WAM news agency identified the British hostage as Robert Douglas Semple.
David Cameron was reportedly informed of the successful operation by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday.
Washington considers al-Qaida’s Yemen branch to be the most unsafe offshoot of the global terror network and has repeatedly targeted it with drone strikes.
In July 2014, Mike Harvey was released five months after being captured in Sanaa.
In December, a US and a South African hostage held by Islamist militants were killed in a failed rescue attempt by US forces.
AQAP was behind several plots against Western targets, including this year’s deadly attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
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Gulf countries are seeking to fend off what they see as Iranian influence on their neighbour, while the Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt government in league with the al Qaeda militants.
