ROME -- Two Italian young women hostages who were kidnapped in Syria in July were released Thursday, the Italian Prime Minister's office said.

 The two girls, Vanessa Marzullo and Greta Ramelli, last were seen publicly when a video of them was released on YouTube Dec. 31 making a dramatic appeal for Italy to arrange their release.

 The two were kidnapped in Aleppo while working as volunteers when they made contact with Al-Nusra, the Syrian ally of Al Qaeda.

 MPs in Italy's parliament applauded when minister Laura Boschi announced the two had been set free.

 Italian intelligence sources declined to give further immediate details of the release or say whether a ransom was paid. There have been persistent reports of Italy paying multi-million ransoms for hostages in the Middle East in the past.