Egyptian state TV said six policemen and a border guard kidnapped by suspected militants in the Sinai Peninsula last week have been freed.

According to The Associated Press, the report says the men were let go in the middle of the desert by their captors and the military was transporting them on Wednesday, May 22 back to the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

The military's spokesman, Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, confirmed the release on the army's official Facebook page, saying the men's freedom came about as "the result of the efforts of military intelligence, in cooperation with the honorable tribal leaders and Sinai residents."

The development came just hours after the Egyptian military launched a massive sweep, searching for the seven in the volatile peninsula bordering the Gaza Strip and Israel.