Three Mexican journalists freed following kidnapping

Three journalists recently kidnapped in Mexico's southern state of Guerrero have been freed unharmed after search operations by security authorities, the office of the state's attorney general said on Saturday.

Mexico is one of the world's deadliest countries for journalists, with five killed this year, the international free-speech group, Article 19, has said.

The three journalists released on Saturday were among five people whose disappearance in the tourist town of Taxco the state attorney general's office had said this week it was investigating.

Silvia Arce and Alberto Sanchez, who lead the digital platform RedSiete, were freed early on Saturday, Article 19 said, after having been taken on Wednesday by armed men who entered the outlet's central Taxco offices.

Another journalist freed on Saturday was Marco Toledo, director of the weekly El Espectador de Taxco, authorities said.

Toledo's wife and son had also been kidnapped by five armed men who entered their home last Sunday, Article 19 said.

Although Toledo's wife has been freed, authorities are still searching for the journalist's son, the attorney-general's office said in its statement.

With a tally of 13 murdered, last year was the deadliest for journalists in Mexico since Article 19 began keeping records in 2000.