Al-Qaeda releases elderly Australian woman kidnapped with her husband in Africa
AL-QAEDA militants have released an Australian woman who was kidnapped in the African country Burkina Faso.
The couple were kidnapped by militants in January
Jocelyn Elliot was taken along with her husband Ken on January 15 in the near the town of Djibo – where the couple, who are in their 80s, have run a medical clinic for four years.
The warped terror group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and said the operation was part of a bid to secure the release of its imprisoned fighters.
The claim came in an audio recording translated by SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadi activity online.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb also said it would release Jocelyn Elliott without conditions so as "not to make women involved in the war”.
Jocelyn and Ken Elliot have lived in the African country since the 80s
The pair run a medical clinic in the city of Djibo
Niger presidential spokesman Abdourahmane Alilou said on Saturday that Jocelyn Elliott appeared alongside the country’s president Mahamadou Issoufou in the town of Dosso, located about 90 miles southeast of the capital, Niamey.
Me Alilou said Ms Elliott "was freed following mediation led by the president of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, and presented to the press this afternoon in Dosso”.
Al-Qaeda attack on Burkina Faso hotel kills at least 20
He said Burkina Faso intelligence services had also been involved in securing her release and that efforts were still ongoing to free Ken Elliott.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb rose to prominence in large part through kidnap-for-ransom operations targeting foreign aid workers and tourists.
In recent months, the group has grabbed headlines with claims of responsibility for high-profile strikes in West Africa, killing 20 people in an attack on a hotel in Mali's capital in November and 30 people in an attack in Burkina Faso's capital the same day the Elliotts were kidnapped.
Authorities are still trying to negotiate Ken Elliot's release