U.S. forces have carried out a rescue operation in northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen being held by armed men, the Pentagon has said.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State," the Pentagon said in a statement, adding that no military personnel were injured in the operation.
While the Pentagon did not provide the American citizen's identity, a U.S. official told Reuters it was 27-year-old Philip Walton, who was kidnapped earlier in the week, and the raid included Navy SEALs.
Six gunmen riding motorcycles and armed with AK-47 assault rifles kidnapped Walton from his home on the edge of a rural village in neighbouring southern Niger early on Tuesday.
Niger, like much of West Africa's Sahel region, faces a deepening security crisis as groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State carry out attacks on the army and civilians, despite help from French and U.S. forces.
Australian Associated Press
