Trump hails ‘big win for our very elite US Special Forces’ as kidnapped American Philip Walton freed in ‘high-risk raid’
PRESIDENT Donald Trump hailed a "big win" for the US military on Saturday after a kidnapped American was rescued in a "high-risk raid."
Philipe Nathan Walton, 27, had been abducted in on October 26 and gunmen demanded a ransom from his relatives, local officials said.
officials said the Seal team "carried out the rescue mission and killed all but one of the captors."
The operation was said to have involved the , Niger, and governments.
A spokesperson for the US state department previously said they were aware of the attack and was giving the family support while working with local authorities to find Walton.
The kidnapping comes two months after ISIS-linked militants killed six French aid workers and their Niger guide while they were visiting a wildlife park east of the capital.
Walton's kidnapping brought the number of foreign hostages believed to be held by extremist groups in Niger to seven.
ISIS is believed to be holding one other American, Jeffrey Woodke, who was abducted from his home in Abalak, Niger in 2016.
Woodke had been in Niger for nearly three decades providing humanitarian services and disaster relief, according to a video message released by his wife to the kidnappers two years ago.
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A German, Jorg Lang, who was kidnapped in April 2018, is also believed to be held by ISIS.
Four other foreign hostages believed to be held by al-Qaeda-linked militants are from Romania, Australia, Colombia, and South Africa.