$50m ransom payout funded al-Qaeda attacks

An estimated $50m ransom paid to free a hostage seized by al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali in late 2025 helped to fund their advances across West Africa and the group’s global network, UN experts said. A new UN report detailing the use of the ransom did not identify the hostage or say who had made the payment, reports TimesLIVE. Three regional sources identified the country having made the payment as the UAE. The sources said an Emirati citizen, as well as two other foreigners who had been kidnapped but were not referenced in the UN report, were freed after money changed hands. They did not explain how it had been done. In response to questions about the kidnapping and ransom payment, a UAE official said the country was unwavering in condemning and countering extremism and terrorism. Most of the money went to fighters operating in the Sahel region, but some also flowed to al-Qaeda in Yemen and the organisation’s core leadership, which is likely to be in Iran or Afghanistan, the UN report said. It was not possible to reach the al-Qaeda affiliates in Africa and Yemen for comment. Mali’s Government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The two other hostages freed were from Pakistan and Iran, two regional security sources said, without detailing any ransom payments. The Pakistani and Iranian Governments did not respond to requests for comment. The UN report, written by a team that monitors al-Qaeda and Islamic State on behalf of the UN Security Council, was presented to the UN sanctions committee behind closed doors last week, a source said. The findings underscore how a single ransom payment can reshape the finances and reach of a militant network.

Full TimesLIVE report

An American missionary kidnapped in Niger last year has been released after more than nine months in captivity and returned to US custody, according to his organisation and US President Donald Trump. Kevin Rideout, a pilot with the evangelical missionary agency SIM International, was abducted in Niger’s capital, Niamey, on 21 October by three armed men while heading towards the airport, reports Al Jazeera. Reuters, citing The New York Times, reported on Friday that Rideout had travelled to the US accompanied by FBI officials. Details of how and where Rideout was released remain unclear, as does the identity of the group that held him during the final stages of his captivity. After his abduction, the kidnappers were believed to have travelled towards Niger’s western Tillaberi region, where armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and Isis operate.

Full Al Jazeera report