Mogadishu (Alshahid)—Reliable sources from the Somali presidential palace confirmed Wednesday that one of the two French security advisers kidnapped by Islamist rebels in Mogadishu escaped from his captors.

The hostage was believed to be held by Al Shabaab Islamist group and a senior police officer Abdiqadir Odweyne said he killed three of his captors before fleeing to the presidential palace.

“One of the two Frenchmen escaped from Al Shabaab and now he is in the palace,” Odweyne told Reuters.  

“We understand he killed three al Shabaab guys who were guarding him. I cannot understand how this good story happened but now he is in the hands of the government.”

The two Frenchmen were seized from Sahafi hotel in Mogadishu and were held by two Insurgent groups-Hisbul Islam and Al-Shabaab.

Some reports said one foreign journalist has also escaped with the Frenchmen, but he has not been seen so far.