India, Dec. 4 -- An Indian sailor, who was part of the crew of a merchant vessel detained by Yemen's Houthi rebels in July, has been released and is expected to return home soon, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday.

Anilkumar Raveendran was among 11 sailors from India and the Philippines freed by the Houthi rebels on Wednesday. The men were flown out of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital held for more than a decade by the rebels, to Muscat in a Royal Oman Air Force aircraft on Wednesday.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who targeted merchant vessels during the Israel-Hamas war, said on their al-Masirah satellite news channel on Wednesday that Oman had taken custody of the freed sailors.

The Indian government welcomed the release of Raveendra...