A British couple held captive in Somalia for more than a year was released on Sunday by pirates who held them in the center of the country after attacking their yacht off the Somali coast, close sources said.

The couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, was set free after long negotiations with their captors and were now in the central Somali town of Addado in Galgaduud province, said Abdi Mohamed Helmi "Hangul," a Somali doctor who treated the couple in captivity and took part in the effort to release them. "They are fine and are now talking to the local elders and the administration and will soon leave the town for Mogadishu where they will fly to Nairobi," Hangul told Xinhua by phone from Addado town.

Addado is under the control of local Himin and Heeb regional autonomy and is a relatively peaceful part of central Somalia.

It was not immediately clear if a ransom had been paid but pirates who held the Chandlers have been demanding hefty ransom for the release of the elderly British couple since their ordeal began almost a year ago.

Early in the month Somalia pirates received the biggest ransom payout to date after a South Korean tanker was seized. Almost 10 million U.S. dollars was reportedly given for the freedom of the tanker and its crew.

Piracy is rife in waters off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden where a number of ships and their crew were taken hostage by the pirates who ask for ransom for their release.