A French engineer who was kidnapped in northern Nigeria has been freed.

Francis Collomp was working in the state of Katsina when he was kidnapped in December by a jihadist group calling itself Ansar al-Muslimeen.

The French president's office announced Sunday that Collomp has been released, but did not offer additional information.

"This long-awaited new does not make us forget that seven of our compatriots are still being held hostage in Syria, Mali and Nigeria," the office said in a statement. "France will continue to work tirelessly for their freedom."

In another development in Nigeria, the military said its soldiers killed 29 suspected members of the Boko Haram terrorist group. The deaths occurred during two shootouts in the country's Borno state. The U.S. government last week labeled the group a foreign terrorist organization.