Two Italian aid workers held hostage in Syria for almost six months have arrived back on home soil after being released, the Italian government has announced, according to CNN.

Greta Ramelli and Vanessa Marzullo were greeted on the tarmac in Rome by officials, including Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

Marzullo, 21, and Ramelli, 20, were kidnapped in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo shortly after they arrived in late July to work on humanitarian aid projects, the state-run ANSA news agency said.

A video posted on New Year's Day showed two young women identified as the hostages dressed in Islamic garb with only their faces showing. They appeared to be seated against a wall. One read a brief statement in English, which included: "We are in big danger and we could be killed."

There were no other details divulged Thursday about the release.