US missionary released following kidnap in Niger, Christian group says - BBC News

Kevin Rideout, who was kidnapped outside his home in the capital last October, is now with US officials.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Kevin Rideout was kidnapped outside his home in Niger's capital Niamey (file photo)

An American missionary has been released after spending more than nine months in captivity, the international Christian organisation he worked for has said.

Kevin Rideout - who was kidnapped outside his home in Niger's capital Niamey last year - was "in good health in the care of US officials", SIM International said in a statement on Friday.

The New York Times, which first reported Rideout's release, cited unnamed US officials saying that he was now in FBI custody, though details of how he was released, as well as who he had been held by, remained unclear.

There had been concerns that Rideout had been taken by militants, who have increasingly used violence and abductions as tactics.