ISIS-affiliated group in the Sahara says it has a Romanian hostage

Desert sands.
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

The leader of a jihadist group in the Sahara that pledged allegiance to Islamic State five days ago announced that his organization is holding a Romanian hostage.

In a statement published on a jihadist website, Abu Walid al-Sahraoui, the head of Al Mourabitoun, made the odd claim that "the Romanian government will be fully responsible for the fate of its hostage if it delays in seizing the opportunity offered to it to release its citizen." The hostage, whose name was not released, was abducted on April 4 from a manganese mine in Burkina Faso, where he was a security guard. Witnesses told local media that they saw him being driven in the direction of Mali's desert.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.