Two Afghan staff members from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who had been abducted by armed men in February in the northern Jozjan Province have been released.

"We are relieved and grateful that our colleagues are now back with us unharmed," ICRC head of delegation in Afghanistan Monica Zanarelli said in a statement on September 5.

Unknown armed men abducted two staff members after killing six of their colleagues while they were on the way to an area in Jozjan on February 8.

"It has taken a lot of effort, and we are thankful to the communities and the authorities who have mobilized and played a role in facilitating our colleagues' release," Zanarelli said in her statement.

The ICRC refused to say who the kidnappers were or what the motive behind the abduction was.

A Spanish Red Cross staff member was kidnapped in northern Kunduz Province in December and released after 19 days in captivity.