Lombard man kidnapped in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — An American citizen from Chicago’s suburbs has been kidnapped in Afghanistan by a Taliban-affiliated group, a U.S. official said Thursday, and authorities are working to rescue him.
U.S. officials believe Mark Frerichs of west suburban Lombard was kidnapped by the Haqqani network, according to an official not authorized to discuss the case.
It was not immediately clear why Frerichs was in Afghanistan or where precisely he was picked up, though Newsweek — which first reported the kidnapping — said he was taken into custody last week in Khost province, in the eastern part of the country, and that he is a contractor who has worked as a civil engineer in different conflict zones over the last decade.
Art Frerichs, who identified himself as Frerichs’ father, told an Associated Press reporter on Thursday that he believed the Newsweek report was true. “I don’t want to say any more now for security reasons,” he said. “I have the utmost faith in President Trump and the FBI.”
The Taliban said it had no information on the kidnapping and nothing to say about it. No one has claimed responsibility for kidnapping Frerichs.
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