{"id":220623,"date":"2026-08-14T22:40:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/u-s-missionary-kidnapped-in-niger-is-released-after-9-months-in-captivity-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T22:40:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:40:29","slug":"u-s-missionary-kidnapped-in-niger-is-released-after-9-months-in-captivity-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/u-s-missionary-kidnapped-in-niger-is-released-after-9-months-in-captivity-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. missionary kidnapped in Niger is released after 9 months in captivity – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NIAMEY, Niger \u2014 An American missionary who was kidnapped in Niger in October has been released, his organization said Friday.
Kevin Rideout \u201cis in good health in the care of US officials,\u201d SIM International said in a statement.
He will soon be reunited with his extended family, the statement added.
Rideout was kidnapped in the West African country\u2019s capital<\/a>, Niamey, on Oct. 21 by three armed individuals and was probably driven out of town, according to information provided by a security official at the time.
No armed group claimed responsibility for the abduction.
President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday that Rideout was \u201cback in United States Custody\u201d after being \u201ckidnapped by Jihadi terrorists,\u201d adding: \u201cKevin, the United States of America looks forward to welcoming you HOME.\u201d
Niger has long faced attacks from armed groups including jihadis linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization.
The U.S. Embassy in Niamey issued a security alert a day after Rideout\u2019s kidnapping warning that American citizens \u201cremain at a heightened risk of kidnapping throughout Niger, including in the capital city.\u201d
Niger is ruled by a military junta that took power in 2023 after deposing the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. The new authorities ousted Western partners including the United States, which had soldiers in Niger, and forged a new security and diplomatic alliance with Russia.
In June, more than 30 people were killed when gunmen attacked the main airport<\/a> in Niamey. It was the second attack this year at the airport, a strategic hub that serves as the ruling military\u2019s command, hosting its air force base and most of its drones and aircraft. It\u2019s also the headquarters of the regional alliance that brings together troops from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The violence is the latest sign of armed groups<\/a> increasingly targeting cities and urban centers in Africa\u2019s Sahel region.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeNIAMEY, Niger \u2014 An American missionary who was kidnapped in Niger in October has been released, his organization said Friday.Kevin Rideout \u201cis in good health in the care of US officials,\u201d SIM International said in a statement.He will soon be reunited with his extended family, the statement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":220624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-220623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}