Update 2: Iranian diplomat released after 20-month captivity in Yemen

An Iranian diplomat kidnapped by the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch in 2013 has been freed and returned to Tehran, a Yemeni military source told Xinhua Thursday.

"Iran's special troops, backed by Yemeni intelligence, conducted a successful military operation and managed to free the diplomat from the al-Qaida hands safely and unhurt," the Yemeni local military source said on condition of anonymity.

In Tehran, the Iranian intelligence ministry confirmed that the diplomat, Nour Ahmad Nikbakht, returned home on Thursday.

"The operations were concluded at the least cost," said Iranian intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, who stressed that that Tehran did not respond to the abductors' conditions positively.

Nikbakht was kidnapped by al-Qaida militants on his way to work in downtown Sanaa on July 21, 2013, and was transferred to Yemen's southern regions where the al-Qaida group is active.

Iranian diplomats in Yemen were believed to have been targeted by the Sunni-dominated al-Qaida group which accuses Tehran of supporting the Shiite Houthi group to control Yemen.

On Jan. 18, 2014, an Iranian diplomat was shot and killed by al-Qaida militants near the Iranian ambassador's residence in Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

On Dec. 3, 2014, the al-Qaida group launched a bomb attacked against the Iranian ambassador's residence, leaving three people dead and several others wounded. The Iranian ambassador was away at the time of the attack.

Tehran has denied any links to the Houthi group, but the two countries opened direct flights between Tehran and Sanaa early March after the Houthis took control of Sanaa.

More than a dozen countries, including the United States, Britain, and Saudi Arabia, have closed their embassies in Sanaa following the Houthi takeover of power, and several airlines have suspended their flights to Sanaa, citing security concerns. Endit