A senior army officer and three of his relatives who were kidnapped earlier this week from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan have been released.

“Safe and unconditional release of Lt Col Khalid Ameer and three of his other relatives have been secured due to the role played by tribal elders and local notables,” the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement issued on Saturday.

“All the abductees have safely returned home,” the military’s media wing said.

The officer and his two brothers were kidnapped from a mosque in their hometown, Mohalla Khadr Khel, while receiving condolences for their father’s recent death.

The suspected militants forcibly abducted the three siblings; one brother was employed by the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board while another worked for Nadra.

In separate videos released, the two brothers indicated they were located “far away” from areas controlled by the government. They were shown sitting in front of a black cloth, surrounded by armed individuals with obscured faces.