WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. officials say an American citizen kidnapped in the West African nation of Niger this past week has been rescued in a U.S. military operation in neighboring Nigeria.
Philipe Nathan Walton was taken from his farm in Massalata in southern Niger early Tuesday morning by armed kidnappers who demanded a ransom from the man’s father. 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.
President Donald Trump said “courageous soldiers” had pulled off a “daring nighttime rescue operation” and that “it was something that had to get done because they were playing with American citizens.”
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