Haftar boosts regional role with US hostage release

Authorities in eastern Libya under military commander Khalifa Haftar helped secure the release of an American missionary held hostage held by an Islamic State affiliate in West Africa's Sahel region, escorting him to freedom through Libya, five sources told Reuters on Friday. 

Four of the sources said that a deal was brokered, with one saying saying a ransom was paid. However, a senior source in Haftar's forces said they had carried out a military operation in Mali to free the hostage, Kevin Rideout. Malian government officials were not immediately available for comment. 

Libya's role in the deal has not previously been reported. 

Haftar's involvement in the freeing of a U.S. hostage reflects how he has carved out a position as a major security broker in the broader Sahel region, and has used it as leverage to curry favour with the Trump administration.

The State Department declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about Haftar's involvement. In a social media post, Trump said the U.S. looks forward to welcoming Rideout home. 

Rideout worked for the evangelical agency Serving in Mission and was kidnapped in Niger in October.

Reuters reported last year that Rideout was seized by three unidentified men on his way to the airport in Niamey and taken to the western Tillaberi region of Niger, where Islamist militants linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda operate.

The U.S. has made recovering Rideout one of its top priorities in the Sahel. The Trump administration lifted sanctions on top Malian government officials earlier this year in an effort to secure overflight access to the country's airspace to hunt for the pilot. 

For months, officials believed Rideout may have been moved to Malian territory.

Two sources said the recent effort to secure his release from the Islamic State affiliate was led by Cherif Ould Tahar, a Malian Arab businessman with connections to regional armed groups and smuggling networks. Tahar could not immediately be reached for comment. 

It was not clear what, if anything, was traded in exchange for his release. One of the sources said the Libyan side had paid a ransom, without providing further details.  

However, a senior source in the the Libyan National Army, Haftar's force that controls the east of Libya, which is divided between rival administrations, provided a different account of Rideout's liberation. 

They said an elite LNA commando had carried out a raid into Malian territory and Rideout was flown to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.

Reuters was unable to confirm the details of the LNA account.