LONDON (AP) — A British man kidnapped in Yemen has been released safely after five months in captivity, the U.K. government said Saturday.
Mike Harvey, a teacher, was abducted in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on Feb. 12 after leaving an educational institute.
Harvey “is being supported by staff at the British Embassy and will be reunited with his family soon,” a Foreign Office spokesman said, adding that Harvey was released after efforts between Yemen’s government and tribal intermediaries.
In Yemen, a security official and a tribal leader said Harvey was freed after a ransom was paid to kidnappers. Other tribal leaders said that he was held by militants linked to al-Qaida.
Kidnappings are common in Yemen, an impoverished nation where armed tribesmen and al-Qaida-linked militants take hostages in an effort to swap them for prisoners or cash.
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