* Militiamen had asked to use airstrip
* Residents say aid workers boarded plane (Recasts with aid agency confirmation)
By Sahra Abdi
NAIROBI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Somali gunmen on Saturday released three foreigners working for Action Against Hunger who were seized from northern Kenya in a cross-border raid in July, a rebel official and the aid organisation said.
"They have just been released and taken to Nairobi," Sheikh Abdirisak, an official with insurgent group Hizbul Islam, told Reuters by phone from Luq in southwestern Somalia.
He said militiamen came to Luq several days ago and asked to use the airstrip. "The administration accepted their proposal and worked the security of the deal," he said.
A representative for Action Against Hunger in Kenya confirmed three of its workers had been released on Saturday and said they were in good health.
Cross-border raids are fairly common in the region, but usually involve cattle rustlers or gangs of robbers preying on business people in both countries. Ill-funded Kenyan security forces can do little to police the vast, impoverished area.
It was not clear whether a ransom had been paid for the release of the aid workers, taken from Kenya's remote Mandera province that borders Somalia and Ethiopia.
The aid organisation has asked for the nationalities of the hostages not to be released.
"I have seen with my own eyes those three aid workers being put on a plane heading to Kenya this morning," said Mohamed Ahmed, a member of a militia loyal to Hizbul Islam in Luq.
Luq resident Ahmed Igal said the same. (Additional reporting by David Clarke in Nairobi, Mohamed Ahmed in Mogadishu; Writing by David Clarke; Editing by Alison Williams)
'''Somalijscy rebelianci uwolnili w sobotę (3 X) trzech zagranicznych pracowników organizacji humanitarnej. Z kolei somalijscy piraci w piątek porwali hiszpański kuter.'''

Wolontariusze zostali porwani 18 lipca w okręgu Mandera.

''Zakładnicy zostali uwolnieni i są przewożeni do Nairobi'' - powiedział dla Agencji Reutera Sheikh Abdirisak, członek Hizbul Islam.

Obecnie w Somalii przetrzymywanych jest nadal 4 zagranicznych osób. Są nimi dwoje pracownicy ONZ porwani w kwietniu 2008, dziennikarka z Kanady i dziennikarz z Australii, którzy zostali uprowadzeni w sierpniu zeszłego roku. 26 sierpnia porywaczom uciekli dwaj Francuzi. Natomiast 11 sierpnia islamscy radykałowie uwolnili sześciu przetrzymywanych zagranicznych zakładników.

=== Piraci uprowadzili hiszpański kuter ===

Piraci na Oceanie Indyjskim wczoraj uprowadzili hiszpański kuter, który łowił tuńczyki. 

W rękach piratów nadal przebywa pięć jednostek. Są nimi oprócz hiszpańskiego kutra ''Alakrana'', tajwański kuter ''Win Far 161'' porwany 6 kwietnia, grecki statek ''Ariana'' porwany 2 maja, transportowiec ''Charlle'' porwany 12 czerwca oraz pozostający od 8 lipca w rękach piratów turecki ''Horizon-1''.