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.
