Algiers/Paris - Libyan strongman Moamer Gaddafi paid a ransom to free two Austrians kidnapped by Islamic militants in Tunisia, the Algerian daily Liberte reported on Monday.

According to the report, Gaddafi paid between 3 million and 5 million euros (3.85 million - 6.41 million dollars) to members of the terrorist group al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, who were holding the hostages, Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloibner, in northern Mali.

The daily reported that Gaddafi acted after the late Austrian right-wing extremist Joerg Haider had urged his son, Seif el-Islam al-Gaddafi, to ask the Libyan leader to help free the hostages.

Haider reportedly saw the event as a means to polish his political image, the daily reported. However, he died in a car crash before Ebner, 51, and the 43-year-old Kloibner were freed.

The two Austrians were abducted in February while driving around the Sahara near the Tunisian-Algerian border.

Austrian Defence Minister Norbert Darabos said his government had not paid a ransom.

"The Republic of Austria cannot be blackmailed. The Republic of Austrian does not negotiate with terrorists," he told public broadcaster ORF last week after the couple was released. (dpa)