Paris  - Two employees of the French aid organization Action Contre La Faim (ACF) who were taken hostage in Afghanistan two weeks ago were freed Saturday, the French government confirmed.

The two were "in apparently good health," French media reports said.

The two French nationals had been roused from their sleep by a group of armed individuals and abducted from their house in Nili in

the Day Kundi district of the central province of Uruzgan during the night of July 17-18.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is currently holidaying in the south of France, thanked his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai for his help in securing the hostages' release.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner expressed his joy at the release in a statement.

ACF suspended its activities in Afghanistan after the abduction.

It was not clear whether the kidnappers were members of the ousted Islamist Taliban regime. (dpa)