A Swiss couple has been released after being held hostage by Pakistani Taliban militants since last July.

Military officials in Pakistan said Thursday the hostages were found on a main road near a military checkpoint in North Waziristan, in Pakistan's tribal region, where the militants had kept them captive. Officials say they have been taken to Peshawar.

The Swiss tourists — a man and a woman — were abducted at gunpoint as they were traveling through the restive southwestern province of Baluchistan by car. The Pakistani Taliban later claimed responsibility, demanding a Pakistani scientist jailed in the United States be released in exchange for the couple.