An American citizen kidnapped in Niger last week was rescued in neighboring Nigeria by US special forces.
“Last night, our Country’s brave warriors rescued an American hostage in Nigeria,” President Trump said in a congratulatory tweet Saturday. “Our Nation salutes the courageous soldiers behind the daring nighttime rescue operation and celebrates the safe return of yet another American citizen!”
Philip Nathan Walton, 27, was taken by armed captors from his farm in the southwestern region of Massalata. The attackers demanded a $1 million ransom from Walton’s father. Authorities do not believe the abduction was terror-related, but there was a risk Walton’s captors could have sold him to terrorist groups operating in the region.
The “precision” hostage rescue was conducted by SEAL Team Six, which killed six of Walton’s seven captors, according to ABC News.
“They were all dead before they knew what happened,” a counterterrorism source with knowledge of the rescue told the network. No US soldiers were injured during the mission conducted by the same SEAL squad famous for killing Osama bin Laden.
Walton has since returned to Niger where, Chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said, he “is safe” and “in the care of the US Department of State.”
No ransom was ever paid.
Niger has seen an uptick in extremist-related kidnappings in recent years. ISIS militants killed six French aid workers and a guide just two months ago while they were visiting a wildlife park near the capital city of Niamey.
Jeffery Woodke, a Christian humanitarian who spent decades in the country, was abducted in 2016 and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Four US special forces soldiers were killed in Niger in 2017 after an ISIS raid near the village of Tongo Tongo. Five Nigerians and 21 militants were also killed.
With Post wires