{"id":8153,"date":"2026-08-14T12:38:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=8153"},"modified":"2026-08-14T12:38:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:38:55","slug":"u-s-missionary-who-was-kidnapped-in-niger-is-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=8153","title":{"rendered":"U.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger is released"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A U.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger in October 2025 has been released, the Christian NGO he works for announced on Friday.<\/p>\n

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Kevin Rideout “is in good health in the care of US officials,” SIM International said in a statement<\/u>, adding he would soon be reunited with his family.<\/p>\n

Details of how and where Rideout was released were not given. The U.S. State Department has not yet confirmed his release.<\/p>\n

Rideout was kidnapped on October 21 in Niamey, the capital of Niger, a junta-ruled nation long plagued by insecurity.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The country has become increasingly anti-Western since the 2023 military coup that overthrew the democratically-elected government.<\/p>\n

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In 2024, at the request of the junta, the U.S. completed a withdrawal of hundreds of troops from an airbase in the country, which had been used to support counterterrorism operations.<\/p>\n

However, this year the U.S. government announced<\/u> it had donated $2.3 million in military equipment to Niger after “both sides reaffirmed a shared commitment to security cooperation.”<\/p>\n

“This assistance reflects our shared interest in countering terrorism, combating kidnapping for ransom, disrupting criminal networks, and strengthening regional security,” a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Niger said in May.<\/p>\n

“It advances United States national security interests by helping a partner in the Sahel defend its territory, secure its borders, and reduce threats that can affect our respective nations.”<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[1622,37],"class_list":["post-8153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-niger","tag-u-s"],"yoast_head":"\nU.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger is released - Best USA Movers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=8153\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger is released - Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=8153\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-14T12:38:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\"},\"headline\":\"U.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger is released\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T12:38:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153\"},\"wordCount\":308,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/bbdbd18fc2de21788deb914e184e48d6.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Niger\",\"U.S\"],\"articleSection\":[\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153\",\"name\":\"U.S. missionary who was kidnapped in Niger is released - Best USA Movers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/bbdbd18fc2de21788deb914e184e48d6.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T12:38:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=8153#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/bbdbd18fc2de21788deb914e184e48d6.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/bbdbd18fc2de21788deb914e184e48d6.jpg\",\"width\":2140,\"height\":1427,\"caption\":\"FILE - Motorcyclist ride along a street in Niamey, Niger, Thursday, June 18, 2026. 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