An 88-year-old Australian doctor, Kenneth Elliott , has been released after seven years of captivity in West Africa.Elliott and his wife were abducted by Al Qaeda-linked jihadists in Burkina Faso in January 2016. His wife Jocelyn was released a month after being taken while Elliot remained in captivity. The announcement of his release was made by Australian government.Kenneth Elliott from Perth is safe and has been reunited with his wife Jocelyn and their children, Australian Foreign Minister said in a statement. "We wish to express our thanks to God and all who have continued to pray for us," Elliott's family said in a statement released by the minister's department. Al-Qaida's North Africa wing claimed responsibility for that attack and other high-profile strikes in West Africa months earlier, including killing 20 people in an attack on a hotel in Mali's capital Bamako.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 19, 2023 18:14 UTC