US forces free American hostage kidnapped in Nigeria
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| No US military personnel were injured during the rescue |
American forces rescued a US citizen held hostage by armed men in northern Nigeria during a raid early on Saturday, the Pentagon said.
“This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the US Department of State,” Jonathan Hoffman, chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement.
No US military personnel were injured during the rescue, he said.
The Pentagon did not identify the rescued person but ABC News reported on October 28 that Philip Walton, 27, an American missionary, had been abducted from his home in a small southern Niger village, close to the border with Nigeria.
President Donald Trump, in a tweet, called it a “big win for our very elite U.S. Special Forces” and said more details would follow.
Niger's defence minister Issoufou Katambe said Mr Walton was abducted on Monday night on the outskirts of Massalata, a village about 10 kilometres from the border with Nigeria.
Local officials had said this week that the kidnappers called the man's father to demand a ransom, although the family did not confirm this.
Mr Walton had been living in Massalata with his wife and child for two years, according to his father, who himself has been in Niger for nearly 30 years.
Niger lies in the heart of the vast Sahel region, which is struggling with an extremist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Several westerners are currently being held hostage in the region, including American aid worker Jeffery Woodke, who was kidnapped in the central town of Abalak in 2016 and is believed to be in neighbouring Mali now.
Three Europeans, including 75-year-old French charity worker Sophie Petronin, were released by their captors in Mali earlier this month under a prisoner swap arranged by the Malian government.
In August, six French aid workers and two Niger citizens were killed in the Koure wildlife reserve west of Niamey, in an attack claimed by ISIS.