Colombia's ELN rebels free 3 worker hostages

Colombia's National Liberation Army, better known as ELN, its Spanish acronym, on Monday freed three hostages in the rural area of northeastern Arauca department, the Red Cross confirmed. The three pipeline construction workers, kidnapped in September, were handed over to a commission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Catholic Church, ICRC official Jordi Raich said. According to Raich, the release operation was conducted in a "very quickly way" in a rural area of Fortul municipality near the border with Venezuela. Previously, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos called on the ELN to free all hostages as a condition to start peace talks. Founded in 1964, the ELN is the second largest rebel group in Colombia with more than 4,000 soldiers. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is the largest.