All posts tagged: Kidnapped

Nigeria launches hunt for hundreds of kidnapped mosque worshippers | Elections News

Nigeria launches hunt for hundreds of kidnapped mosque worshippers | Elections News

Published by Sam Flores

With elections set for January, President Tinubu seeks to clamp down on kidnapping trend in northern Nigeria. Published On 26 Aug 202626 Aug 2026 Nigeria has launched a hunt for hundreds of people kidnapped from mosques in the north of the country. The military and other security services began the operation on Wednesday after President Bola Tinubu ordered a major rescue mission to find an estimated 600 worshippers who were abducted from an area around Dekera village in north-central Niger State last week. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “I have directed the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, and all relevant security and intelligence agencies to launch a coordinated rescue operation immediately for the victims of the recent mass abduction in Niger State,” the Nigerian president wrote on social media late on Tuesday. Mass kidnappings for ransom have been on the rise in northern Nigeria since the start of the year. The issue has become politically sensitive before a presidential election in January with security likely to …

Nearly 50 dead and more kidnapped as armed gang say ‘I will kill all of them’ | World | News

Nearly 50 dead and more kidnapped as armed gang say ‘I will kill all of them’ | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

Mourners weep at the site of the killings in Kenscoff (Image: AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) At least 47 people have been killed and more than 50 others kidnapped after armed gangs attacked a ‘once-peaceful community’ in Haiti. Following what is thought to be one of the largest mass kidnappings in Haiti in recent years, one gang leader has threatened to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members as they try to secure the community. Sunday’s attack (August 23) on Kenscoff, nestled in the hills above Port-au-Prince, pierced the belief that security in the troubled Caribbean country was improving. “This is a major political and security test, for the government, for the police and for the international mission,” said Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. He said the threat of executing hostages is a trap: If forces don’t act, they’ve failed to protect them; if they do and hostages die, the gangs will blame the state. Kenscoff resident Marc Paul, 42, said gangs kidnapped his …

Nigeria launches operation to rescue 600 kidnapped victims | Crime

Nigeria launches operation to rescue 600 kidnapped victims | Crime

Published by Sam Flores

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a rescue operation on Tuesday for victims of the 600-person mass abduction from a mosque in Dekera village. The statement comes after gunmen recorded and distributed a video of the victims on Facebook and WhatsApp. Published On 25 Aug 202625 Aug 2026 Share Nigeria launches operation to rescue 600 kidnapped victims on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Source link

Israeli couple kidnapped on October 7 reveal horror abuse – sex attacks to beaten children | World | News

Israeli couple kidnapped on October 7 reveal horror abuse – sex attacks to beaten children | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

Israeli couple kidnapped on October 7 reveal horror abuse (Image: AFP via Getty Images) An Israeli couple who were kidnapped in the October 7 massacre have revealed the horrifying ordeal the hostages endured in captivity in Gaza. Aviva Siegel, a former kindergarten teacher, said women as young as 16 returned from harrowing sex abuse and one came back “purple” after such a barbaric assault. The 65-year-old said the hardest thing was knowing what was happening to the young girls during her 51 days as a hostage in Gaza. “I’m a witness of all of the girls who were beaten up into pieces,” she told the Daily Mail. She said the Hamas captors forced women into wearing tight clothing and showering naked in front of them, and one guard entered the bathroom and forced a girl into performing oral sex. Aviva Siegel looks on at her husband and released US-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel (Image: AFP via Getty Images) Aviva recounted how a 16-year-old female hostage who had “never ever [shown] anybody her body” was sexually assaulted, …

U.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger is released : NPR

U.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger is released : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

FILE – Motorcyclist ride along a street in Niamey, Niger, Thursday, June 18, 2026. AP Photo/AP hide caption toggle caption AP Photo/AP A U.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger in October 2025 has been released, the Christian NGO he works for announced on Friday. Kevin Rideout “is in good health in the care of US officials,” SIM International said in a statement, adding he would soon be reunited with his family. Details of how and where Rideout was released were not given. The U.S. State Department has not yet confirmed his release. Rideout was kidnapped on October 21 in Niamey, the capital of Niger, a junta-ruled nation long plagued by insecurity. While no group claimed responsibility for the abduction, a number of jihadist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization operate in the West African country. The country has become increasingly anti-Western since the 2023 military coup that overthrew the democratically-elected government. In 2024, at the request of the junta, the U.S. completed a withdrawal of hundreds of troops from an airbase …

Teen girl kidnapped in Chicago is found alive in Virginia after being held captive for 4 years

Teen girl kidnapped in Chicago is found alive in Virginia after being held captive for 4 years

Published by Sam Flores

CHICAGO — A shocking update has ended the mystery of a missing child and kidnapping case, as a teenager who disappeared from Chicago has been found four years later in Virginia, having been held captive all this time, according to NBC 5 Investigates. The alleged kidnapping happened outside a Chicago movie theater on June 23, 2022, according to law enforcement. The 15-year-old girl had taken an Uber from Milwaukee to Chicago to meet a man who had arranged the ride for her, authorities said. She had been communicating with the man online for several years, they said. Investigators said the man convinced the teen to meet up, and he held her captive ever since that day. “Her dad called me and was like, ‘Her phone’s going to voicemail.’ I knew immediately it was just off.” The parents of Joniah Walker, now 19, said they knew a switched-off cellphone was the key clue that their daughter was in danger. The teenager became a well-publicized missing person, her family and friends begging for help and criticizing Milwaukee …

Horror as girl, 16, kidnapped, gang raped and abandoned | World | News

Horror as girl, 16, kidnapped, gang raped and abandoned | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

A man accused of kidnapping a 16-year-old girl and taking part in her alleged gang rape has finally been arrested in India after police said officers were attacked while trying to take him into custody. Police said Naresh Kumar was detained during a raid at his home in Basant Nagar in Shimlapuri, a neighbourhood in the northern Indian city of Ludhiana, on Monday after officers received information that he was there. The operation was carried out by officers from Moti Nagar police station with assistance from the Shimlapuri police. According to police, family members initially refused to open the door before trying to stop officers from making the arrest. During the confrontation, a woman allegedly slapped a police constable and abused the picket in-charge, while other relatives reportedly scuffled with the police team in an attempt to stop Naresh Kumar from being taken into custody. Despite the alleged resistance, police said Kumar was arrested and will now appear before a court as officers seek his remand. The arrest is linked to a police case registered …

Nigeria: Hundreds of kidnapped women, children freed from Boko Haram jihadists

Nigeria: Hundreds of kidnapped women, children freed from Boko Haram jihadists

Published by Sam Flores

Several hundred people kidnapped by Boko Haram earlier this year from a village in the northeastern state of Borno were freed over the weekend, a senator and local youth leader said Sunday. Kidnappings, often for ransom, have become a key tactic of Boko Haram jihadists in their 17-year-old insurgency against the Nigerian state, mostly concentrated in the northeast. Read moreAcross Africa: ‘Mothers of Chibok’, a story of sadness and strength Samaila Kaigama, president of the Borno South Youth Alliance (BOSYA), said his group “has secured the release of all the 416 women and children abducted from Ngoshe”. They were released Saturday, Kaigama told journalists. Mohammed Ali Ndume, a senator from Borno, confirmed the release to AFP. It was not immediately clear how the victims’ release was secured. But separately, the military said it executed an “intelligence-led rescue operation” freeing 360 people. Read moreJoint Nigeria-US strikes kill 175 Islamic State group fighters, both militaries say The victims had been held by Boko Haram militants “under harsh conditions after being abducted from several communities, particularly within the …

British ‘mafia boss’ Steven Lyons kidnapped by law enforcement, lawyer claims, after capture in Bali and deportation to Amsterdam | UK News

British ‘mafia boss’ Steven Lyons kidnapped by law enforcement, lawyer claims, after capture in Bali and deportation to Amsterdam | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

Lawyers for one of Europe’s top “mafia bosses” have accused law enforcement of “kidnapping” the fugitive as part of an international underworld extradition saga. Steven Lyons, the alleged head of the infamous Lyon crime clan based in Scotland, is accused of running a global criminal empire involving money laundering, drug trafficking and shifting millions through shell companies. He attended an extradition hearing in Amsterdam on Thursday after being deported from Indonesia under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Spanish authorities. Extraordinary pictures from Bali captured Lyons, who they branded a “mafia fugitive”, being paraded by Indonesian authorities in an orange prison suit and handcuffs. Spain has no extradition treaty with Indonesia meaning he was sent to the Netherlands as part of the process. Today’s hearing, which was filmed by Sky News, marks a critical turning point in a years-long international investigation into what police claim is a multi-million-euro empire operating across Europe and the Middle East. What happened in court? While the Amsterdam proceedings focused solely on whether Lyons can legally be handed over to …

Katie Price missing husband latest: ‘This is not a publicity stunt’ insists reality star who fears Lee Andrews has been kidnapped

Katie Price missing husband latest: ‘This is not a publicity stunt’ insists reality star who fears Lee Andrews has been kidnapped

Published by Daniella Wilson

Katie Price fears that she may ‘never’ find husband Lee Andrews The TV personality revealed that none of Andrews’ family have heard from him and that she’s feeling “anxious” about when he’ll be found. “I don’t know if this is going to go on for weeks, months, years or never. That’s now what’s going through my mind because five days is a long time for someone to go missing,” she said. “All I can do is keep myself busy, look after myself, look after my head and just get on with each day. Because I still have to get on with life.” Lauren Morris20 May 2026 05:00 ‘The Apprentice’ star Luisa Zissman flies to Dubai to find Lee Andrews Posting on Instagram on Monday, she filmed herself at Heathrow Airport, picking up some tissues for Andrews. When I find him, he will be crying, probably need some therapy after his ordeal, his kidnapping.” “So the plan is I’m just gonna go to a lot of warehouses and shout his name in hope that he comes …