Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Two Italian aid workers have been freed in Iraq after being held for three weeks by captors who threatened to kill them if the Italian government didn't give in to their demands.

``The two girls are fine,'' said Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at a televised press conference in Rome. ``This evening they will be able to hug their loved ones.''

Simona Torretta and Simona Pari, both 29, were kidnapped from the office of A Bridge to Baghdad with two Iraqi workers on Sept 7. The kidnapping set off weeks of demonstrations across Italy and in Iraq by people demanding their release.

The four hostages were handed over to the Italian Red Cross in Iraq, Berlusconi said. The prime minister spoke with the two Italians after their release. Berlusconi indicated that security forces knew where the hostages were being held, though he give few details about how they were liberated.

``There was a possibility of carrying out a military blitz, but we thought it was too risky; we chose the most favorable way,'' Berlusconi said, without giving details of the actual release.

Several groups, including the Jihad Organization had claimed the kidnapping on various Web sites. The captors at one point demanded Italy remove its 3,000 soldiers from Iraq and in another instance called for the release of all female prisoners from Iraqi jails.

Jordan & Kuwait

After the capture of the aid workers, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini traveled to Kuwait and other countries in the region to work for their release. The Berlusconi government also enlisted the help of King Abdullah II of Jordan, who was in Rome today for meetings with Berlusconi. The Italian government last month came under fire for not doing enough to free Enzo Baldoni, an Italian freelance journalist who was captured in Iraq and killed by his kidnappers.

``We're very emotional, we weren't expecting this news today,'' Laura Torretta, the sister of Simona told RAI state-run television in a telephone interview. ``We're crying with joy.''

The release comes less than a week after two groups claimed to have murdered the Italian hostages and said that they were going to post a video of the slaying. The government said the claims weren't credible and called the announcements ``a media assassination.''

A Bridge to Baghdad was founded in 1991 after the end of the first Gulf War to provide humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people and oppose the UN embargo on Iraq, according to the group's Web site. They work in health care, water treatment and education. The group has been vocal in its opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The two women were originally abducted from their Baghdad office by a group of men dressed in military uniform in a five- minute operation. The hostage-takers arrived in three jeeps and were armed with AK-47 rifles and guns with silencers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sheyam Ghieth in Rome at sghieth@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 28, 2004 13:37 EDT