An American citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Niger earlier this week has been freed in a rescue operation by US forces the Pentagon con
An American citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Niger earlier this week has been freed in a rescue operation by US forces, the Pentagon confirmed Saturday. The hostage, Philip Walton, described as the son of a missionary living in Niger, was abducted Monday night on the outskirts of Massalata, a village in Niger near the Nigerian border. He had been taken into Nigeria where US forces freed him, the Pentagon said. “The United States is committed to the safe return of all US citizens taken captive,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a separate statement. Niger’s defence minister Issoufou Katambe told AFP that the hostage had been released without giving further details of the circumstances of the release or the hostage’s whereabouts.
