THE US MILITARY FORCES RESCUE AMERICAN CITIZEN KIDNAPPED IN NIGER FROM NIGERIA
The
US military operation rescued a citizen of the United States who was abducted
in Niger and brought to Nigeria according to US officials.
Philipe
Nathan Walton was abducted from his farm in Massalata village in southern Niger
on Tuesday by armed men who demanded ransom from his father.
The
United States department of defense confirmed the military operation saying it
took place in Northern Nigeria.
“This
American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the US Department of State.
No US military personnel were injured during the operation,”
President
Donald Trump said in a tweet it was a “big win for our very elite US Special
Forces today” and details would come later.
US
secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement: “Thanks to the
extraordinary courage and capabilities of our military, the support of our
intelligence professionals and our diplomatic efforts, the hostage will be
reunited with his family.”
Philipe
Nathan Walton who kept camels, sheep and poultry and grew mangos was kidnapped
by six men armed with AK-47 assaulted rifles who went there with motorcycles.
His
wife, young daughter and brother were left behind.
The
Reuters News Agency has reported the kidnapper look like they are from the
Fulani ethnic group and they speak Hausa and English.
Niger
faces a number of attacks by armed group link to ISIL (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda.
The kidnapping Philipe Nathan Walton happen
two months after ISIL linked fighters killed six French aid workers and their
Niger guide while they were visiting a wildlife park.
A
US official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the rescue before an
official announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were no
solid indications that Walton’s kidnapping was terrorism-related and that it
was instead “trending toward a kidnapping for ransom”.
But
the official said the US government was concerned the hostage could be passed
to another armed group, or the kidnapping could become a prolonged
hostage-taking.
A
local government official, Ibrahim Abba Lele, a prefect in Birni-N’Konni town,
told The Associated Press news agency earlier this week the kidnappers had called
and demanded ransom from Walton’s father, who lives approximately 1km (about
half a mile) away from his son’s farm.
No
ransom was paid, according to the US official.