Manila – Two German hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf Group were released in southern Philippines on Friday night, local media reported.

The report said the Al Qaeda-linked militant group freed the German hostages after they got the 250 million pesos (about 5.57 million U.S. dollars) ransom.

The Abu Sayyaf Group had threatened to kill its two German captives if their demands of ransom would not be met by Oct. 17.

The German couple have been in captivity since April, when they were forcibly taken by the militants while aboard their yacht off the western Philippine province of Palawan.

The Abu Sayyaf Group was founded in the 1990s and had since perpetrated a number of high-profile attacks, including kidnapping and bombing. The Philippine military estimates the group has about 400 members at present. Source: Xinhua