Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
U.S. forces conducted a hostage rescue mission in northern Nigeria on Saturday, successfully freeing an American citizen, the Pentagon announced in a statement Saturday.
What they're saying: “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," Jonathan Hoffman, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, said.
- "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."
- "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 big picture: Earlier this week armed kidnappers abducted a U.S. missionary in the West African nation of Niger and then transported him to Nigeria, where they demanded a ransom from the man’s father, according to AP. Nigeria has experienced a recent uptick in the number of attacks by extremist groups linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, per AP.