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Yemen al-Qaeda: Raid frees hostages Yemen: Eight al-Qaeda hostages rescued in Hadramawt
(about 2 hours later)
A group of seven Yemenis who were taken hostage by a group linked to al-Qaeda have been freed by Yemeni special forces, officials say. Yemeni troops have taken part in a raid to rescue a group of eight hostages being held by al-Qaeda, in which seven militants were reportedly killed.
Earlier reports that an eighth hostage - an American serviceman - was also rescued have been denied by the US. One soldier was injured during the operation in the eastern province of Hadramawt, Yemeni officials said.
Seven kidnappers are reported to have been killed in the overnight operation. Six Yemenis, a Saudi and an Ethiopian were freed. The US denied reports of an American hostage being rescued.
Scores of people have been kidnapped in Yemen in recent years, by tribesmen for ransom and more recently by Islamist militants as part of their insurgency. There were also conflicting reports about whether US special forces took part in the rescue.
A Yemeni government source had told Reuters news agency a US military instructor had been freed. He said the American worked at al-Anad air base in Lahij province, about 60km (37 miles) north of the port city of Aden. The Yemeni Supreme Security Committee's statement made no mention of any US involvement on the ground, but the New York Times said about two dozen American commandos had led the raid.
The source added that the rescue mission had taken place close to the base. It is not clear when the people were abducted. Citing officials from both countries, the newspaper reported that they and a small number of Yemeni counter-terrorism troops had flown by helicopter near to a cave in the remote Hajr al-Sayar district of Hadramawt where the hostages were being held.
In a statement, however, the Pentagon said: "There were no US personnel rescued from Yemen last night." The troops then hiked some distance in the night to the cave, where they surprised the militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the New York Times said.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is based in Yemen and is seen by the US as one of the most active and dangerous branches of the network founded by Osama Bin Laden. Seven militants were killed in the ensuing firefight, it added. The hostages were not harmed and were evacuated by helicopter.
The group is believed to have been holding a South African teacher since May 2013 in addition to a Saudi Arabian deputy consul kidnapped in Aden in 2012. The US defence department referred questions about the raid to the Yemeni government.
An Iranian embassy official is also believed to have been abducted by al-Qaeda members in Sanaa in July 2013. The Supreme Security Committee said one of those freed was Khalil al-Mekhlafi, who was kidnapped in the southern province of Bayda in June 2013.
Yemen is an important ally of the US in its struggle against al-Qaeda. It has given permission to American forces to conduct a longstanding drone war against the group on its territory. Mr Mekhlafi was working as a lecturer at al-Bayda University at the time, having previously served as a police officer, and was reportedly seized along with two of his colleagues.
The militant group has exploited instability in the impoverished country since a 2011 uprising overthrew president Ali Abdullah Saleh. It is not clear if the freed Saudi national is Abdullah al-Khalidi, the kingdom's deputy consul in the southern port city of Aden, who was abducted in March 2012.
Mr Khalidi appeared in a video in September 2014 in which he appealed to the Saudi government to negotiate his release. AQAP militants said they were holding him in a bid to secure the release of female prisoners in Saudi Arabia and to raise a ransom.
AQAP is also believed to be holding a South African teacher kidnapped in May 2013 and an Iranian embassy official who went missing in July 2013.