Sudanese and Egyptian troops rescued an abducted group of European tourists and Egyptian guides after an assault on their kidnappers on the Egypt-Sudan border, officials said on Monday.

The 11 tourists and eight Egyptian guides in the group, who disappeared on Sept. 19 while on a safari trip in remote southwestern Egypt, have returned to Cairo, said Egypt's state news agency.

An Egyptian security official said they were rescued in a joint operation near the Sudanese-Chadian border late Sunday or early Monday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

The group, which includes five Germans, five Italians and a Romanian, were "feeble" but in good health, said the official.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini later confirmed the report, telling reporters in Belgrade, Serbia, that the hostages were in the hands of Egyptian authorities and their condition was being checked.

Frattini told ANSA news agency that he would not give details on the release because the group was still in an unsafe area.

"Our compatriots and the other hostages in Egypt have been freed," Frattini was quoted as saying by ANSA.

"It is the result of international co-operation for which we have to be really grateful to the authorities of other countries that have been working with us."

The kidnappers were believed to be armed desert tribesmen, reported the Associated Press on Monday. They demanded millions of dollars in ransom in exchange for the safe return of the tour group.

German officials had been negotiating with the kidnappers, who reportedly demanded as much as $15 million US.

Frattini said no ransom was given.

Sudanese forces made breakthrough Sunday

A breakthrough in the search came on Sunday after Sudanese forces pursued eight alleged kidnappers in a high-speed desert chase, said the Sudanese military. In the ensuing gunfight, all but two of the purported hostage-takers were killed.

The two remaining gunmen, now in custody, claimed the tourists were being hidden in Chad, but their exact whereabouts at the time of their rescue remains in doubt.

The Sudanese and Egyptian militaries, using two helicopters, then launched the assault that freed the captives, two security officials said.

While one of the officials said the exchange of fire and rescue took place in Chadian territory, there has been no confirmation of this account.

The government in Chad denied the tourist group was within its borders, the BBC reported Monday.

Sudanese authorities had earlier believed the tourists were being held in northwestern Sudan.

Five soldiers were also injured in the chase, which started when a vehicle carrying the hostage-takers refused to halt when spotted near the Sudan-Egypt border.

With files from the Associated Press