Two Bangladeshis, who were held hostage by the Islamic State (IS) terror group in Libya, have been released after 18 days, the foreign ministry here has confirmed.

Helal Uddin of Jamalpur and Mohammed Anowar Hossain of Noakhali were released on Tuesday evening and were taken to Libya’s Sirte hospital for check-up, bdnews24 reported.

The physical conditions of both was stated to be “normal”.

Uddin and Hossain along with seven other foreigners were abducted on March 6 when gunmen invaded the Al-Ghani oil field south of Libya’s Sirte city, 700 km from capital Tripoli.

They could be released because of the “prompt initiatives” and “constant efforts” of the ministry of foreign affairs as well as the Bangladesh embassy in Libya, the ministry said in a statement.

The Bangladesh mission in Tripoli earlier said they were trying “heart and soul to rescue them”.

These two were the first known Bangladeshis to have been abducted by the IS.

They were employees of VAOS, an Australian oil company.