Algeria announced on Saturday that a German citizen kidnapped by an armed criminal group in neighboring Niger about two weeks ago is safe and in the hands of the Algerian military.

The German national was taken into custody by the Algerian army's security services on Friday, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry shared via the official Algerian news agency.

He has been transported on a special flight from Guezzam in the far south to the Boufarik military base near the capital Algiers. The statement added that he is in "good health" and will be handed over to German authorities "at a later date."

No details were provided on how the German national was freed. A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry told DW that the government is aware of the case but does not comment on abduction cases involving German citizens abroad.

Niger, which has been under military rule since a July 2023 coup, has in recent years been plagued by violence from jihadists linked to al-Qaeda or the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist groups.

Source: www.dw.com