A South African Stephen McGown held hostage by Al-Qaeda in Mali since 2011 has been freed. The country's Foreign Minister said today McGown, 42, was abducted in Timbuktu in northern Mali in November 2011 along with Swede Johan Gustafsson and Dutchman Sjaak Rijke by a group of armed men while on the terrace of their hotel. <br/><br/> Gustafsson was released in June while Rijke was freed in April 2015 by French special forces.<br/>Al-Qaeda's North African affiliate Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had claimed responsibility for the kidnappings of the three men.