American troops on Saturday morning rescued an American citizen taken hostage last week in Niger, according to a statement from the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cU.S. forces conducted a hostage rescue operation during the early hours of 31 October in Northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men,\u201d said Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman in a media release. \u201cThis American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State. No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Niger and Nigeria share a long border. More than three-fourths of Niger, which is north of Nigeria, is covered by the Sahara Desert, and the Sahel, a region of dry grasslands and savannas that extends across Africa just south of the desert, has become a hotbed of Islamic militants. Niger and northern Nigeria are both predominantly Muslim.<\/p>\n\n\n\t