On the eve of the presidential elections … Trump confirms the success of the release of hostages from the United States

US President Donald Trump officially confirmed in a tweet on Saturday that US forces had released a US hostage who was being held in Nigeria, in an operation that did not cause any casualties among US soldiers.

Trump noted that the soldier is now accompanied by his family.

Trump said: “The operation to free the American hostage took place 96 hours after his abduction in northern Nigeria and he is now accompanied by his family.

As revealed by the United States Under Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Jonathan Hoffman, in a statement on Saturday, the release of the American citizen occurred as part of a hostage rescue operation carried out by US forces in the early Saturday morning in northern Nigeria.

The statement added that the US publisher is safe and is now under the auspices of the US State Department. No US military personnel were injured during the operation.

Hostage-taking in exchange for exorbitant ransoms is prevalent in Nigeria, in areas under bloody attacks from Boko Haram jihadists and ISIS in South Africa.

Last year, ISIS in West Africa killed eleven Christians in northeastern Nigeria and released a video documenting it.

According to the United Nations, 12 humanitarian workers were killed in the country in 2019, and two of them were held hostage by militants.

The conflict with Boko Haram and ISIS in West Africa has killed 35,000 people and displaced nearly two million since 2009.