South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
American kidnapped in Niger rescued
Taken in Niger lastweek, theman has been rescued in an operation in neighboring Nigertia.
WASHINGTON — An American citizen kidnapped in theWest African nation of Niger last week has been rescued in a U.S. military operation in neighboring Nigeria, U.S. officials said Saturday.
Themanwas taken from his farm in Massalata in southern Niger early Tuesday by armed kidnappers who demanded a ransom from the man’s father. He was identified earlier in the week by a local government official as PhilipeNathan Walton, though other officials and news reports cited slightly different spellings of the man’s first name.
The Defense Department confirmed the operation Saturday, saying it took place in northernNigeria.
“This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of theU.S. Department of State. No U.S. military personnel were injured during the operation,” the department said in a statement.
SEAL Team 6, along with other members of a joint special operations force, conducted the rescue, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the operation. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the operation and spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details.
President
Donald
Trump said in a tweet that “courageous soldiers” had pulled off a “daring nighttime rescue operation” and also told reporters that “it was something that had to get done because theywere playing with American citizens.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the rescue by “some of our bravest and most skilled warriors” underscores the U.S. commitment “to the safe return of all U.S. citizens taken captive.”
Niger has faced a growing number of attacks by extremists linked to both the Islamic State group and to al- Qaida. The kidnapping comes twomonths after IS- linked militants killed six French aid workers and their Niger guide while they were visiting a wildlife park east of the capital.
A U.S. 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 U.S. government was concerned that the hostage could be passed to another terrorist group, or that the kidnapping couldbecomea prolonged hostage-taking. Walton is back inNiger. A local government official, Ibrahim Abba Lele, a prefect in Birni-N’Konni town, told The Associated Press earlier last week that the kidnappers had called and demanded ransom from Walton’s father, who lives approximately onehalf mile away from his son’s farm. No ransom was paid, according to the U.S. official.