A French aid worker who was kidnapped by gunmen three months ago in Yemen's western port city of Hodayda has been released, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Saturday.

"Benjamin Malbrancke, the delegate of the ICRC abducted on April 21 by armed individuals near Hodayda in northern Yemen, is free," the ICRC said in a statement obtained by Xinhua.

"We are relieved and extremely happy to have our colleague back with us, in good health. His return marks the end of many long, hard days, full of anxiety for him and his family, as well as for the team here in Yemen and for his friends," said Eric Marclay, who heads the ICRC operations in the country, adding that "We would like to express our deep gratitude to all those who have lent us their support during these long weeks, so that Benjamin can now look forward to soon rejoining his family."

It was the second kidnapping targeting westerners in Hodayda this year after suspected al-Qaida members abducted a Swiss woman working as a language teacher on March 14. The kidnappers are still holding the women and demand a ransom.

Meanwhile, a Yemeni security official told Xinhua anonymously that al-Qaida released Malbrancke. "Al-Qaida's leaders decided not to abduct any aid worker in the future. So they ordered that any humanitarian aid worker must not be kidnapped for any reason in accordance to Islamic Law," the official cited tribal sources close to the terrorist group as saying.

In March, al-Qaida snatched a Saudi diplomat in the southern port city of Aden. They later moved him to neighboring Abyan province and demand a ransom and the release of the militants in Saudi prisons, according to the Saudi interior ministry.

Yemen has long been plagued by the kidnapping of foreigners by powerful tribesmen and sometimes terrorists who seek ransoms or their demands being granted by the government, including the release of jailed clansmen.