About six captors were killed on Saturday after US special operations forces rescued an American citizen taken hostage by armed men earlier this week in Niger and held in northern Nigeria.
A US official with knowledge of the operation told CNN that the Navy’s elite SEAL Team 6 were flown to the region by Air Force special operations.
The mission lasted several hours.
The rescued US citizen, reports say, is a male missionary but the Pentagon did not confirm it in its statement.
“U.S. forces conducted a hostage rescue operation during the early hours of 31 October in Northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men. This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State. No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said.
“We appreciate the support of our international partners in conducting this operation. The United States will continue to protect our people and our interests anywhere in the world.”
The US believes the captors have no known affiliation with any terror groups operating in the region, and were more likely bandits seeking money.
Governor of the region where the abduction took place Abdourahamane Moussa told the news media that six men on motorbikes armed with AK-47s came to the man’s property in the village of Massalata, close to the border with Nigeria and took him away.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a tweet praised the military for the successful mission.
“Outstanding work by the U.S. military today in freeing a U.S. citizen taken hostage in Niger and reuniting him with his family,” he wrote.
President Donald Trump told reporters as he departed for a day of campaign travel: “I want to thank the Special Forces. We had a tremendous event happen and really these are incredible people that do this.”
