|
The committee did not disclose the nationality of the foreign
hostage, but a Yemeni government source said he was a U.S.
military instructor who worked at al-Anad air base in Lahej
province, some 60-km (37 miles) north of the port city of Aden.
The source said the rescue mission took place near the base, but
there was no immediate confirmation of this from the security
committee. The U.S. embassy in Sanaa declined to comment on the
report.
The committee said in a statement that one member of the Yemeni
security forces was lightly wounded in the operation.
Yemen, which borders the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia,
is home to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), regarded by
Washington as one of the most active branches of the network
founded by Osama bin Laden.
The Pentagon said in 2012 that the United States had resumed
on-the-ground military training aimed at bolstering Yemen's
fight against al Qaeda following a suspension of such help
during a period of intense political upheaval.
Kidnapping is common in Western-backed Yemen, where the country
is battling an insurgency from Islamists linked to al Qaeda, a
southern separatist movement and sporadic conflicts with armed
tribes.
Hostage-taking is sometimes carried out by militants
specifically targeting Westerners, but is also used as a tactic
by tribesmen to resolve disputes with the government, and by
opportunists hoping to sell hostages on to other groups.
Earlier this month, the United Nations said a water engineer for
Sierra Leone working Yemen had been freed more than a year after
being seized by unidentified armed men.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, Writing by Yara Bayoumy and Sami
Aboudi; Editing by Kim Coghill and Crispian Balmer)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
