American aid worker Jeff Woodke released SIX YEARS after being held hostage by terrorists in Niger

An American aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger more than six years ago and held hostage by an Al-Qaeda terror group has finally been released.

President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that Jeff Woodke was released on Monday.

Woodke was kidnapped in Abalak in October 2016 by members of JNIM, the umbrella organization which includes Al Qaeda.

The long-time aid worker was the first American citizen to be abducted in the Sahel region.

Sullivan said in a statement: 'I'm gratified & relieved to see the release of U.S. hostage Jeff Woodke after over six years in captivity. The U.S. thanks Niger for its help in bringing him home to all who miss & love him.'

Jeff Woodke was released on Monday after being kidnapped in Abalak in October 2016 by members of JNIM, the umbrella organization which includes Al Qaeda

President Joe Biden 's national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed Woodke's release

'I thank so many across our government who've worked tirelessly toward securing his freedom.

'We are working closely with partners in the region and beyond to ensure safe transport and immediate access to the best medical and psychiatric support we can offer.

'Where exactly Jeff chooses to go will be a bit up to him.'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger earlier this month, with a senior official confirming that the release of Woodke was discussed during the trip.

The official confirmed that the US did not pay any ransom to terrorists and thanked the government of Niger who was involved in the efforts to secure Woodke's release.

'There was no direct negotiation here between the US government and the terrorist organizations, it is worth making that clear,' the official said.

'Certainly, we did not pay a ransom a concession to a terrorist organization here.

'Emerging as our best line of effort among many that we have tried over the years was working to see what a very good and capable and thankfully willing partner in Niger was able to deliver in their own engagement.'

Woodke's wife, Els, said she had not yet had the chance to speak with her husband but had been told he was in good condition

The U.S. official confirmed that the US did not pay any ransom to terrorists and thanked the government of Niger who was involved in the efforts to secure his release

Woodke was abducted from his home by terrorist network JNIM which operates across Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

The last attack that the organization took responsibility for was the suicide bombing of the Malian headquarters of the G5 Sahel, an international anti-terror taskforce in 2018 where two soldiers and a civilian were killed. 

Woodke was released outside of Niger in the Mali-Burkina Faso area according to a senior Biden administration official.

He dedicated 25 years of his life to a ministry he founded in Niger, according to the Redwood Coast School of Missions, after moving from California.

During a 2021 news conference in Washington his wife, Els Woodke, said that her husband's captors had made a multi-million-dollar ransom demand for his release.

She said at the time that she believed her husband was in the custody of a West African affiliate of al-Qaida known as JNIM and pleaded with the group's leader to release him.

Woodke committed  25 years of his life to a ministry he founded in Niger before his abduction in 2016

During a 2021 news conference in Washington his wife, Els Woodke, said that her husband's captors had made a multi-million-dollar ransom demand for his release

In a statement Monday released through a family spokesman, Els Woodke said she had not yet had the chance to speak with her husband but had been told he was in good condition.

They added: 'She praises God for answering the prayers of Christians everywhere who have prayed for this outcome.'

Woodke was abducted by gunmen in the middle of the night, with his guardian and a National Guard soldier shot and killed during the incident.

His kidnapping marked the first time an American citizen was taken in the vast Sahel region, where al-Qaeda and criminal gangs have long targeted French nationals and other Europeans for kidnappings and demanded millions of dollars for their release.

The abduction took place in the town of Abalak, northeast of the capital Niamey, in the Tahoua region of Niger.

Despite a peace accord and a 2013 international military intervention, large tracts of Mali are still not controlled by domestic or foreign troops and remain subject to attacks by jihadists.