French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans were tonight rescued from leftist guerrillas by Colombian troops.

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Ingrid Betancourt as seen in the FARC video released earlier this year

Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said army commandos captured rebels manning a security ring around a group of hostages in a region of southeastern Colombia and got them to persuade their comrades to turn over the captives, without any loss of life.

Along with Ms Betancourt, who had been held for six years, the operation freed three American defence contractors and 11 Colombian soldiers.

There have been mounting fears for the health of Ms Betancourt, seized more than six years ago as she campaigned for the Colombian presidency, after she was seen frail and thin in a video released earlier this year.

Speaking from Paris Ms Betancourt's son Lorenzo Delloye-Betancourt said the news was the "most beautiful of my life".

Ms Betancourt's sister, Astrid, said: "I am filled with happiness. These have been long years of waiting."

Mr Santos said: "Fifteen hostages held by the FARC have been rescued unharmed. Among the hostages was Ingrid Betancourt, three US citizens and 11 members of our armed forces."

He added that all of the former hostages were in reasonably good health after their ordeals in the secret jungle camps.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, has been holding about 40 high-profile hostages it has sought to exchange for jailed rebels.

The Americans, Defence Department contract workers Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, were captured in 2003 after their light aircraft crashed in the jungles while on a counter-narcotics operation.

In Paris an aide to President Nicolas Sarkozy, asked about the news, said the presidency has no comment to make for the moment and that it could not confirm the news.

The FARC, waging Latin America's oldest insurgency, has demanded that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe pull back troops from an area the size of New York City to facilitate talks.

Uribe, popular at home for his tough stance against the rebels, refuses to accept that condition.

But he has offered a smaller safe haven under international observation in an area where there are no armed forces or armed groups.

The FARC, once a 17,000-member force able to attack cities and kidnap almost at will, has been driven back into remote areas and now has about 9,000 combatants. The guerrillas have lost three major leaders this year.

Listed as a terrorist group by U.S. and European officials, the FARC has used Colombia's cocaine trade to fund its operations.