Kevin Rideout, an American missionary and pilot, has been successfully released after being kidnapped in Niamey, the capital of Niger, in October last year. According to a report by the New York Times, Rideout is now in U.S. custody, with the information being confirmed by two U.S. officials.
Rideout is currently en route to the United States. The Times highlighted that recent proof-of-life images indicated that he is in good health, which had been provided to American authorities within the last 48 hours.
Despite the reports, neither the U.S. State Department nor the White House have issued comments regarding Rideout’s release outside their standard operating hours.
Back in October, Reuters reported that Rideout, who serves as a pilot for the missionary agency Serving in Mission, was abducted by three unknown individuals while en route to the airport. This was relayed by an unnamed diplomat, though they did not specify Rideout’s identity at that time.
After the abduction, the captors moved towards Niger’s western Tillaberi region, an area known for the presence of Islamist militants affiliated with both the Islamic State and al Qaeda.
Niger, like its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, has been battling jihadist insurgencies for over a decade.
The US issued a travel warning to Niger days after the kidnapping, warning its citizens against traveling to Niger, citing crime, unrest, terrorism, health and kidnapping.
Reuters had later reported in March that the US was pushing to resume intelligence gathering in neighboring Mali, partly driven by a desire to find the kidnapped missionary, who at the time was believed to be held in Mali by the local al Qaeda affiliate, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
According to the New York Times, details of how and where Rideout was released remained unclear.
It was also unclear which group was holding Rideout at the end of his captivity, as he may have been moved recently, the Times added.