French Special Forces have rescued a Dutch hostage held captive by al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in Mali for over three years in a dramatic operation that led to a gun battle with his captors.

The French Defense Ministry announced on Monday that Sjaak Rijke, a train conductor kidnapped while vacationing in the city of Timbuktu in November 2011, was rescued during "military action carried out by the French army's special forces," AFP reported.

"This combat action has also led to the capture of several individuals," added the ministry as cited in the report, referring to the military assault against the so-called Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terror group.

It further underlined that the freed Dutch hostage was "safe and sound."

Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande was also cited in the report as saying that Rijke had been transferred to a safe location and that a number of suspected terror elements were also killed during the rescue effort.

He also stated that the French forces were unaware of the hostage's presence before the military operation against the militants near Tessalit in Mali's far north, close to the border with Algeria.

"It was a surprise for us -- for our forces -- to be able to free this hostage because we did not have information" about his presence, said Hollande, without elaborating.

Meanwhile, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders confirmed that Rijke was "doing well considering the circumstances."

According to the report, gunmen had stormed into Rijke's hotel in Timbuktu in 2011, abducting him as well as a South African and a Swede, both of whom are still being held captive.

Rijke's wife, also at the hotel at the time, managed to escape the attack.

AQIM released a video of Rijke in November 2014, reading a statement marking the 1,000th day of his captivity.