The International Herald Tribune has posted a rather strange account from the Associated Press about how the hostages were freed. Apparently after ten days of driving around the desert to escape detection from Libyan, Chadian, Sudanese, and Egyptian security forces the kidnappers told the tourists to pile into an SUV and drive. According to some of the tourists the order came after one kidnapper received a phone call on his cell phone.
This strange conclusion happened two days after Sudanese forces killed six kidnappers and captured two of them. Presumably the two captured kidnappers led authorities to the others. Reports certainly place a lot of security forces in the area. Special elite commando groups from Sudan, Egypt, Italy, and Germany have had reported involvement. These commando groups must have focused solely on the kidnappers, as the kidnappees drove 200 miles before stumbling unawares onto an Egyptian Army Base.
One kidnapped tourist identified her real heros in the ordeal: “It was really tough. Our real strength were our Egyptian guides, who always protected us.”