WORLD NEWS | Australian doctor, 88, freed after 7 years kidnapped by Islamic extremists in West Africa

CANBERRA, May 19 (AP) — An 88-year-old Australian doctor held by Islamic extremists in West Africa for more than seven years has been released and returned to Australia.

Foreign Affairs Minister Wong Eng Ying said Ken Elliott was safe and was reunited with his wife and children on Thursday night.

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“I am pleased to report that Dr Ken Elliott, who was held hostage in West Africa for about seven years, has been reunited with his family in Australia,” Wong told reporters in Sydney.

Elliott and his wife were kidnapped in Burkina Faso, where they had run a medical clinic for forty years. Three weeks later, Jocelyn Elliott was released.

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“We want to thank God and everyone who has been praying for us,” Elliott’s family said in a statement released by King’s ministry.

“We are relieved that Dr Elliott has been released and thank the Australian Government and all those who have been involved for a long time in securing his release,” the family statement said.

Wong said no ransom was paid to secure Elliott’s freedom, but gave no other details about his release. Media reports said he was reunited with his family in the west coast city of Perth, where he is from.

“Dr. Elliott is 88 years old and has been away from home for many years and now needs time and privacy to rest and recover,” the family added.

The militant group behind the kidnappings, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, has made a name for itself largely through kidnap-for-ransom operations targeting foreign aid workers and tourists.

On the day the Australian couple was kidnapped – January 15, 2016 – 30 people were killed in an extremist attack in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou.

Al Qaeda’s North African branch claimed responsibility for that attack and other high-profile attacks in West Africa a few months ago, including a hotel attack in the Mali capital Bamako that killed 20 people.

The Elliotts were kidnapped near the town of Djibo in northern Burkina Faso, near the border with Mali and Niger.

Jocelyn Elliott was released in neighboring Niger. Niger’s then president, Mahamadou Issoufou, had worked with Burkina Faso’s intelligence services to secure her release, his office said at the time.

Wong said Australia did not pay the ransom to secure Ken Elliott’s release.

“The Australian government has a clear policy that we don’t pay ransoms,” Wong said.

“What we’ve done over the past seven years is make sure we’re working with other governments and local authorities on Dr Elliott,” she added. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)