KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- A Japanese freelance journalist freed after being held 6 months denied Afghan claims his kidnappers were Taliban insurgents.

Arriving in Dubai Sunday night on his way home to Tokyo, Kosuke Tsuneoka, 41, said his abductors were "a group of corrupt armed factions" in northeastern Afghanistan, Kyodo News reported Monday.

Although a Taliban commander in Kunduz has claimed responsibility, the Japanese Embassy in Kabul said the kidnappers' affiliation still wasn't clear.

Tsuneoka posted messages via his Twitter account alleging his captors, who had held him since late March, were "a group of corrupt armed factions" in northeastern Afghanistan who "tried to extort" the Japanese government.

In June Afghan security officials said Taliban militants had demanded the Afghan government pay several hundreds of dollars in ransom for Tsuneoka's release, the newspaper said.

Muneo Suzuki, a Diet member visiting Kabul said Afghan President Hamid Karzai "worked behind the scenes to save the life" of Tsuneoka, Kyodo News said.

Tsuneoka, reportedly a Muslim, was released Saturday because his captors wanted him to celebrate Eid, the Islamic festival marking the end of Ramadan, with his family, the newspaper said.