Militants freed two Germans hostages on Friday in the southern Philippines, Abu Rami, a spokesman of the armed group told a commercial radio station.

Militants freed two Germans hostages on Friday in the southern Philippines, Abu Rami, a spokesman of the armed group told a commercial radio station.

The German man and woman were seized in April when their yacht had mechanical problems while sailing from western Palawan in the Philippines to the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.

"They are now safe and secure at an army camp," a police official, who was not authorized to speak to the press, told Reuters. He said soldiers and police officers had fetched the man and woman at a police checkpoint.

The Abu Sayyaf armed group had demanded a 250 million pesos ($5.6 million) ransom and for Germany to stop supporting U.S.-led air strikes in Syria. They had originally threatened to kill one of the captives on Friday afternoon.

"A few minutes ago, we released the two Germans," said Abu Rami in a radio interview. The group said that the ransom was paid in full.

Some groups in the southern Philippines have long been fighting Manila's rule, but Abu Sayyaf burst into prominence in 2000 after kidnapping 21 tourists and workers from a dive resort in nearby Malaysia.