Latest Kidnapping News

Mali rebel group frees Spanish national kidnapped in Algeria

Jan. 21, 2025 17:59 PM EST

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A rebel alliance in Mali said Tuesday it has freed a Spanish man who was kidnapped in southern Algeria last week. The Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, a coalition of separatist armed groups in Mali's predominately Tuareg north, said on X that it freed Spanish...

Moroccan truck drivers kidnapped in Burkina Faso have been released

Jan. 21, 2025 08:00 AM EST

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — Four Moroccan truck drivers who were kidnapped in West Africa over the weekend were released in Niger. The drivers were the latest victims of insecurity in the Sahel, an arid swath of land south of the Sahara where militant groups such as the Islamic...

At least 80 people killed in northeast Colombia as peace talks fail, official says

Jan. 20, 2025 07:35 AM EST

BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend following the government's failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said. Twenty others were injured in the violence that has...

Who are the Israelis released on the first day of the ceasefire?

Jan. 19, 2025 23:32 PM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — Three hostages held by Hamas were released Sunday after 471 days in captivity as part of a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. A gradual release of dozens of captives over the next several weeks has been agreed on. The truce and release of...

Oregon man who kidnapped a Seattle woman and kept her in a makeshift cell gets life sentence

Jan. 18, 2025 18:27 PM EST

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man has been sentenced to life in federal prison after being convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women in separate instances, including locking one in a cinder block cell. Negasi Zuberi, 31, was sentenced Friday in federal court in...

Retired Georgia minister is found not guilty in the 1975 killing of a girl in Pennsylvania

Jan. 17, 2025 18:21 PM EST

MEDIA, Pa. (AP) — A retired minister from Georgia was found not guilty Friday in the killing of an 8-year-old girl whose remains were found in a southeastern Pennsylvania park almost a half-century ago. A jury acquitted David Zandstra, 84, of the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, after...

Spain says a citizen has been kidnapped in northern Africa

Jan. 17, 2025 05:32 AM EST

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s foreign ministry says that a Spanish man has been kidnapped in an unspecified northern African country, while Spanish media report that the man is being held by a jihadist group. Spanish state news agency EFE and newspaper El País both report that the man...

College students appear in court in case stemming from ‘Catch a Predator’ fad on TikTok

Jan. 16, 2025 18:24 PM EST

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Five Massachusetts college students appeared in court Thursday, accused of plotting to lure a man to their campus through a dating app and then seizing him as part of a “Catch a Predator” trend on TikTok. The Assumption University students, all...

Nigerian army says it killed 76 extremists during a weeklong operation in Borno State

Jan. 16, 2025 14:10 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian troops killed 76 Islamic militants in the country's northeast during operations conducted in various parts of Borno state, the military said Thursday. The operations took place between Jan. 7 and Jan. 13, Nigerian army spokesperson Edward Buba said...

Colorado apartment complex where armed gang members were seen on video will be closed

Jan. 13, 2025 21:15 PM EST

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado apartment complex where armed members of a Venezuelan gang were caught on video entering a unit last summer is expected to close in about a month under an emergency court order, city officials said Monday. The city of Aurora had pursued a lawsuit to...