17.8.2026
An American missionary who was serving in Niger Republic Kevin Rideout has regained his freedom after being held in captivity Islamic State’s Sahel Province.
Mr. Rideout a pilot working for a Christian organisation in North Carolina, was abducted by gunmen from his home, about a 100m from the presidential palace in Niamey, Niger, last October. He was then transported to northern Mali, where he was held by the local Islamic State wing.
There was no clear detail of how he was freed but Rideout confirmed that Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Khalifa Haftar, played a significant role in his release.
In his brief statement after arriving in Libya, Rideout personally thanked Saddam Haftar, the son of Khalifa and the LNA’s chief of staff, for his role in securing his release.
“I want to express my gratefulness … my thank you to General Saddam Haftar, the Libyan army and the special forces, and everybody who was involved in securing my release and involved in arranging all the logistics for me to be released and to be brought to Libya safely,” Rideout said.
Both the Islamic State’s Sahel Province and its rival, Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), have historically abducted Westerners and other foreign nationals across the Sahel to obtain ransom payments that finance their operations.
For instance, the most recent report of the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team stated that a $50 million ransom paid to JNIM by the United Arab Emirates last year helped finance JNIM’s offensive across Mali in April 2026. With agency reports